Stirlingshire Crematorium’s fundraising tribute to Captain Tom
Staff at Stirlingshire Crematorium paid tribute to pandemic hero Captain Sir Tom Moore by following in his footsteps and walking 100 laps of their grounds.
Captain Tom captured the hearts of the nation during the Coronavirus pandemic when he raised an amazing £38.9m for NHS Charities Together by walking 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden before his 100th birthday.
The efforts of the Stirlingshire Crematorium team helped raised thousands of pounds for the Captain Tom Foundation, which had challenged people and organisations to do some fundraising around what would have been his 101st birthday on 30 April.
Stirlingshire Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, the UK’s largest independent owner of crematoria, with 35 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales.
The Captain Tom Foundation supports many organisations which help people with life-limiting illnesses or who are facing or coping with bereavement.
This resonated with the values shared by Westerleigh Group and prompted its leadership team to throw down the gauntlet to its sites to come up with their own ideas for raising money for the foundation.
Donnie Connor, site manager at Stirlingshire Crematorium, said: “As we were doing this in honour of Captain Tom, it made sense to do something similar to him.
“Three of us took part, so we did 33 laps each and then all completed the 100th lap, walking about 25 miles altogether.
“Charlie is super-fit and a seasoned walker, so he took it all in his stride.
“Rachel is a line-dancer, so we half-expected to see her do it by stepping sideways and backwards.
“I managed to hobble along. I suffer from osteoarthritis in my knees and hip, and also from asthma, but managed to do my bit with the others.
“Charlie only joined us two weeks ago and was keen to be a vital part of the team going forward, so this was a pretty good start!
“What Captain Tom did was spectacular and to follow in his footsteps, to help ensure his legacy is carried on, is good for us and good for society.”
He added; “Unfortunately, lockdown restrictions meant we were not able to invite people to our crematorium to take part in any fundraising activities directly.
“But anyone in the community who uses our crematorium can still be part of our fundraising effort, and pay their own tribute to Captain Tom, by making a donation to our Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/westerleigh-group “
Westerleigh Group set itself a target of wanting to raise £1,000 in total for the Captain Tom Foundation, but with donations still coming in, the Group has raised over £3,000.
