Sudbury student plans epic walk to help Aids charity
WHILE most students are pondering what to do with their long summer break, one group of youngsters are already in training for an extraordinary trip that will see them walk across Wales and England in aid of charity.
Daniel Mitchell, of Spire Chase, Sudbury, will be joining three friends on an unassisted 400-mile trek to raise money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity which raises money for treatment and awareness of HIV/Aids.
The charity was set up in memory of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who died of an Aids-related illness in 1991.
Daniel, 22, a second-year psychology student at Bangor University, said: "We decided we wanted to do something worthwhile.
"There may not be another point in our lives when we have this much time and we were determined to try to make a difference."
The group, calling themselves the Phoenix Fire Foundation, and all avid Queen fans, will set off from Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey on July 20 and then, with no assistance from support crews or parents, hike through North Wales, across the Peak District, down to King's Lynn and on to the finish at Great Yarmouth.
"All of the money raised from the walk will go towards the charity. None of it will fund the walk, as we have already financed that.
"We will be camping every night and, if we can manage 18 miles a day, we should finish in about four weeks," he said.
The Phoenix Fire Foundation includes Daniel's girlfriend and fellow student Danielle Friel, 21, her brother Mike, 16, and sister Siobhan, 18.
They hope to raise 5,000 from the walk and Daniel said the money is beginning to roll in.
He said: "Siobhan painted pictures of Queen which were signed by band members and raised 300 at auction. Brian May (Queen guitarist] has even emailed us to ask if there was anything he could do to support our walk."
Daniel said the walk was the first of many challenges the group were planning for charity. Plans are already underway for a Land's End to John O' Groats trek in the near future.
If you would like to support the team, email enquiries@phoenixfirefoundation.com or for more information go to www.phoenixfirefoundation. com.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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