Big push pulls in £5k for Hospice

David (right) and Darren (left) Murray from Whiteabbey, present a cheque for £5,501.55 to John Phillips, community fundraiser with NI Hospice. INNT 24-002-PSB

The plucky pair raised the money by completing a gruelling physical challenge in May this year - a 100-mile walk from Newtownabbey to Enniskillen.

But it wasn’t just the long distance trek that the two men had to overcome. Their whacky challenge saw them take turns pushing a purple wheelbarrow the entire journey, collecting cash along the way.

David, a 46-year-old council worker, decided to take on the fundraising challenge in memory of his mother, Martha, who passed away in August last year after battling cancer.

With a number of other family members and friends having used Hospice services over the years, David and Darren were keen to raise as much for the charity as possible.

The Murray boys set off with their wheelbarrow from NI Hospice headquarters at O’Neill Road on May 11.

The four-day challenge, which took them through Belfast, Lurgan, Caledon and Fivemiletown, raised a whopping £5,501.55 for the NI Hospice Capital Appeal.

Darren (25), a pipe fitter, completed the walk, despite having a painful knee injury.

“The Hospice do an amazing job,” David said. “They have £11.25million secured for the new building at Somerton Road, however they still need to raise the final £1.75million.

“We raised just over five-and-a-half thousand pounds, so we are absolutely over the moon with the total,” he continued.

“I would just like to thank our family and friends for all their support, and also my work colleagues in the council cleansing department, my comrades in 2 Royal Irish and RD Mechanical Services in Mallusk for their very generous donation.

“I’d also like to say a special thanks to Darren as I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.”

Thanking David and Darren for their support, John Phillips, community fundraiser for NI Hospice commented: “We would like to thank David and Darren for supporting NI Hospice and helping us to support local people with terminal illnesses and their families at what is a very difficult time in their lives.

“At this time we need public support more than ever; we could not realise our dream of rebuilding the NI Hospice without the support of local people like David and Darren.”

For more information about the NI Hospice rebuild project log on to www.nihospicecare.com