Captain Tom’s family open fundraising drive at Lords
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Members of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s family were at Lord’s Cricket Ground today to mark the start of the Captain Tom 100 Challenge – a weekend of fundraising in honour of the second world war veteran who raised £38.9m for the NHS at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
They were joined by former England captains Clare Connor and Mike Gatting ahead of a long weekend of fundraising in honour of Captain Tom.
David Beckham, Dame Judi Dench and Mary Berry are among the celebrities taking on the Captain Tom 100 challenge this weekend over what would have been Captain Tom’s 101st birthday.
The Captain Tom 100 invites everyone to dream up a challenge based around the number 100 and complete it anytime and anywhere over Captain Tom’s birthday weekend to raise funds or donate to The Captain Tom Foundation or the charity of their choice.
Captain Tom walked 100 laps of his garden raising £38.9m for the NHS at the height of the first wave of Covid. He died aged 100 on 2 February this year after becoming an international figurehead for Covid fundraising. He had initially hoped to raise £1,000 pounds before his 100th birthday before the 24-day task gained attention from media across the world.
Celebrities lending their support to the campaign include David Beckham, who will be doing 100 keepy-uppies; Mary Berry, who will be baking 100 cakes; Jess Ennis-Hill, who will complete 100 pogo jumps; Dame Judi Dench, who will be overindulging by eating 100 chocolates; Konnie Huq, who will cartwheel 100 times round her garden; Amanda Holden, who will complete 100 hula-hoops; Ellie Simmonds, who is swimming 100 lengths; and Joe Root, who will hit a cricket ball 100 times/
Captain Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said: “The support from around the world for the Captain Tom 100 has been incredible and we are so excited to see it get underway on what would have been my father’s 101st birthday.
“It’s the perfect way to celebrate his remarkable achievements and also ensure his message of hope lives on. We plan to spend some time that weekend retracing his 100 laps of our garden and reflecting on treasured family memories. He would have really enjoyed watching people across the country uniting to have fun and inspire hope with their Captain Tom 100 challenges. It’s going to be a very special bank holiday weekend.”
The public and charities have already started raising money for their challenges and have been sharing them via #CaptainTom100. These include five-year old Betty-Leigh Allison, who will be baking 100 cakes to raise money for Garden House Hospice Care in North Hertfordshire; five-year-old Lewis Whele from Essex, who has cerebral palsy, who will be aiming to walk 100 steps without using his sticks; Curtis Langley and Ben Hampson, both from Shropshire, who will be playing 100 holes of golf in their 18-hour challenge to raise money for The Movement Centre; mother and daughter team, Angela and Charlotte Reid, from South Devon, who will be walking 100 lengths of Sidmouth seafront together. Charlotte will take part from her wheelchair and is hoping to take a few steps along the way. They will be walking 20 lengths a day between 29 April and 3 May, raising money for Brain Tumour Research.
Many companies and organisations are also signed up to the Captain Tom 100 including Great Western Railway (GWR), Formula One motor racing team Williams Racing and Captain Tom’s birthplace in Keighley – all hoping to inspire others to get creative with their own challenges.
GWR will send the ‘Captain Tom Centennial’, an Intercity Express train, on an epic journey across its network as it stops at 100 stations in just over 40 hours, covering nearly 1,500 miles. Williams Racing is aiming to complete 100 pit stops over the course of the Portuguese Grand Prix weekend raising money for the team’s Official Charity, Spinal Injuries Association. And the town of Keighley in West Yorkshire, where Captain Tom was born, is encouraging its residents to join in to honour Captain Tom’s memory. Town Mayor Cllr Peter Corkindale will be walking 100 times around the Town Hall Square on Friday 30 April, while Robbie Moore MP has pledged to run 10 10k runs over the next 10 weeks.
Suggestions from the organisers include “walking 100 steps, running 100 metres, scoring 100 goals, baking 100 cakes, climbing 100 stairs, hopping 100 laps of the garden or park, building 100 sandcastles, writing a 100-word poem, telling 100 people “Tomorrow will be a good day”, or flipping 100 pancakes.”
The family will be launching proceedings for the Captain Tom 100 weekend from a very iconic London sporting venue on the morning of Friday 30 April.
Once supporters have chosen their challenge, they are invited to fundraise or donate to The Captain Tom Foundation or another charity of their choice and share their 100 on social media, using #CaptainTom100.
One of the City’s top eating and drinking establishments is also helping to promote the event. M Restaurant, based on Threadneedle Street, is offering a £20 gift card for anyone who raises more than £100 and a £100 gift card for the 10 biggest fundraisers.
The Captain Tom 100 is organised by The Captain Tom Foundation with London Marathon Events and supported by the Mass Participation Sports Organisers (MSO), adam&eveDDB, LiveWire Sport and Studio Republic (all working pro bono).
• For more information on Captain Tom 100, visit the website here. Those wishing to donate directly to The Captain Tom Foundation can TEXT HOPE5, HOPE10 or HOPE20 to 70145 to donate £5, £10 or £20