Trevor to celebrate big events with charity walk

Trevor Hassin, who works for the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), has set himself the challenge of walking from Omagh MOT centre to Cookstown MOT centre. The 27-mile trek, in aid of the Ulster Cancer Foundation, will take place from 9am to 4.30pm on Easter Monday (April 9).

The MOT centre in Omagh was Trevor’s first test centre when he came into driver and vehicle testing in 1978, while Cookstown is his home town. For this reason, the challenge has been aptly dubbed Going Home.

The 59-year-old revealed that the fundraising walk will coincide a couple of important events in his life.

“The reason why I am doing this challenge is because I will be retiring shortly, with my last day set for Good Friday on April 6 - which is also my 60th birthday,” he said.

Supporting Trevor is his lengthy challenge is his daughter Rosie Hassin, who is a community fundraising officer for UCF.

Rosie told the Times that Trevor decided to raise funds for the charity after losing some of his colleagues to cancer. One of his close relatives has also recently been diagnosed with the disease.

She added: “At UCF we understand that there is little that causes as much anxiety and stress as a diagnosis of cancer. There are currently 55,000 families in Northern Ireland living with cancer and around 10,700 people are newly diagnosed each year. Our role is to make that time of extreme stress a little more bearable by providing a range of care services for cancer patients.

“My dad hopes to raise up to £2000 by taking part in this challenge, and he has already received about £500, so he is off to a great start.”

Trevor is no stranger to walking such a long distance, having completed the Belfast Marathon in 2006.

“He has not done much walking since then, but recently he has been out training quite a lot at and he is looking forward to the challenge. And while he will be the only person doing the entire walk, a number of other people will accompany him at certain parts.

“I plan to walk with him for about seven miles to give him a bit of moral support,” Rosie concluded.

n Anyone who would like to support Trevor in his upcoming challenge can donate to his ‘Just Giving Page’ http://www.justgiving.com/Trevor-Hassin or for more information contact Rosie on 028 9068 0759. Alternatively, you can email [email protected]