Supporter celebrates his 50th birthday by walking 50 miles for ellenor!

Robin Roberts, one of ellenor’s dedicated supporters, who also volunteers in the hospice charity’s Bexleyheath shop, marked his 50^th birthday on Wednesday 1 February with an epic sponsored walk of 50 miles – a mammoth endeavour which took him nearly 24 hours.

Robin began his birthday morning with a 3am breakfast of a jacket potato and a banana and then headed from Bexleyheath to the charity’s Tunbridge Wells shop by car. He set off on foot from there at 5.00am and headed north, taking in the majority of the charity’s 16 shops, including those in Swanley, Dartford and Welling, as well as ellenor’s Dartford office, before completing his walk at ellenor’s hospice in Gravesend at 2.15am the following morning. He was met there by his parents and Area Fundraising Manager, Kate Barnes.

Robin has been a volunteer in our Bexleyheath shop since 2015.

“I was unemployed and I wanted to get into charity work and put something back into the community, so I called into the ellenor shop,” he explains. “I found the managers Rita and Kay and all the team there very friendly and passionate about what ellenor does and stands for.”

Last year Robin competed in two charity events for the hospice charity - the ellenor Firewalk and The Coolings Highway 10K run.

“Since 50 is a landmark birthday I wanted to do something different and since abseiling was unseasonal, I struck upon the idea of walking from Tunbridge Wells to Gravesend via the ellenor shops,” says Robin. “When I worked out that the total distance would be roughly 50 miles, it seemed like fate.”

Robin updated his Facebook page throughout the walk and kept a smile on his face for the nearly 24 hours of his challenge. He found the time to open his birthday presents the following day and, apart from some blisters, said he was ache free!

“A huge thank you to Robin for undertaking this incredible walk for ellenor!,” says Kate Barnes. “He has smashed his £1000 fundraising target and inspired not only our team, but our shop managers and volunteers and the local community. The money he has raised will make a huge difference to families facing terminal illness from Tunbridge Wells to Gravesend.”

There’s still time to sponsor Robin: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Robin-Roberts50