Matt and friends took on a 25km hike in aid of our HeroRATs!
Having kept rats as a child, when Matt saw APOPO’s HeroRATs on Facebook one day, the cause really caught his eye! Matt immediately started following our HeroRATs on social media and last year, Matt decided he wanted to fundraise for our HeroRATs by doing something different and something active! Matt decided he would hike 25km from his house to Danesborough, UK. Following on from the pandemic, this was no easy feat! Although a challenge, Matt was determined to complete his hike and raise money for our HeroRATs!
Matt set a date for April 2022 and even managed to inspire some of his friends to take part in the challenge! In the end, a total of seven friends and Matt had signed up to undertake this 25km hike!
Matt set up a JustGiving page to take sponsored donations and he started asking friends and colleagues to support his efforts. Matt’s hard work raising awareness paid off and even before he set off on his hike, Matt had already smashed his £200 target!
Matt and his friends managed to complete what was in the end, a 30km hike (Matt takes the blame for the extra 5km as he was chief map reader!) and they raised a whopping £520 for their blister-inducing efforts! The friends’ hike was even featured in their local newspaper, helping to raise even more awareness of our HeroRATs!
Matt says:
“I wanted to raise money and awareness of APOPO because it is such a fantastic cause! The blisters and aches and pains the next day were even worth it!“
Thank you so very much for your amazing support, Matt – not only for raising such a huge amount of money but also for raising awareness of our HeroRATs’ work. We couldn’t do what we do, without support such as yours – thank you so much, Matt and friends!
If you would like to fundraise for APOPO, please fill out this form.
