(sibling impacted by Alport Syndrome)
Although this challenge was not specifically done for the Don’t Wait Fund, it fulfils all the criteria and is a good example of a sibling taking on a challenge to benefit Alport UK and raising significant funds and awareness. Hopefully it is an inspirational story about a sibling impacted by Alport Syndrome who wanted to get fitter himself.
Having never done open water swimming before, James Quillen, Archie Walker, Gordon Piedra, Sam Russel and Harry Moross trained all through the winter of 2017 (including the snow and ice from the Beast from the East) in the Thames and swam the channel in July 2018 as a relay team. The team raised over £18,000 on Just Giving and Archie raised an additional £15,000+ offline.
Their message on Just Giving: We hope to raise as much money as we can for Alport UK. It is a charity that is very important to Archie and his family as both of his brothers are affected by Alport Syndrome. The work the charity has done has established a world-wide patient support network and an international research collaborative for the discovery of new treatments for the condition. Any money donated will go towards creating a brighter future for people living with Alport Syndrome and their families.