The Pavers Foundation Sponsors Dai and Lionel’s trek to Everest Base Camp!

We’ve donated £1,000 to sponsor a trek to Mount Everest Base Camp, raising money for two charitable causes; Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Charity and Huntington's Disease Association. 

Kirsty Hawkins, Customer Advisor at our store in Chepstow, applied through our grant initiative to support her husband’s friends, Dai Miles and Lionel Gurner, who completed the challenge earlier this year. 

Dai Miles and Lionel Gurner with the cheques from the Pavers Foundation.
Dai Miles and Lionel Gurner with the cheques from the Pavers Foundation.

On the 4th May 2019, Dai and Lionel embarked on a challenging trek to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal. They tackled a 15-day trek in the mountains covering 130km, extreme weather conditions with temperatures as low as 25 degrees and an altitude on 17600 ft. 

Dai and Lionel were raising funds for Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Charity and Huntington's Disease Association. 

“I chose to support Dai and Lionel as when I found out what they were doing, I thought it was brilliant, and I knew they had both worked so hard and had put in a lot of time for training. I am pleased to be able to help support two great charities!” 

Kirsty Hawkins, Customer Advisor at Pavers in Chepstow

The Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity fundraises exclusively for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales, which is located in Cardiff. The charity was established as an appeal to fund the building of the hospital, which began in 2003. Now that the build is complete, the charity now raises funds for specialist medical equipment and facilities. 

We support Noah's Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales in providing world class care, helping to ensure the best outcome and experience possible for children and their families. Having raised more than £20 million to build and equip the hospital, today we continue to work hand in hand with the NHS, providing funding for the most up to date equipment and facilities. We also fund support services for families like the play specialist team, who help children be children, despite the difficulties they are facing.

We are always overwhelmed by the generosity of our supporters and we could not have built this incredible hospital without the help of people like you. Today, children in Wales have access to the best possible care and it’s down to the commitment and support we receive. But, while we have accomplished so much, there is still much more to be done. Advancement in research and developing technologies mean that we will always have to invest in improving the therapies available to children as well as maintaining equipment and infrastructure already in place. With your help we can continue to improve the quality of care that children in Wales deserve.

£500 could fund sensory stimulation equipment to enhance physiotherapy treatment sessions and to incorporate the use of sensory stimulation in the hydrotherapy pool, as well as provide a wider variety of exercises to do on dry land. This will benefit inpatients, outpatients and staff that use the hydrotherapy pool and the gym spaces. The equipment can also be used to educate parents and provide them with ideas to use at home”. 

Emma Sankey, Communications & Events Fundraising Officer at Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Charity

As well as supporting this amazing cause, Dai and Lionel also raised funds for Huntington’s Disease Association, a charity working to improve care and support services for people with Huntington’s disease, educating families and professionals, and championing people’s rights. 

Huntington’s disease is an illness caused by a faulty gene in a person's DNA, affecting the body’s nervous system, causing changes with movement, learning, thinking and emotions. There is not yet a cure for the disease, and living with it can be extremely challenging, however, the charity provides great support and advice for people to help manage their symptoms. Their mission is to help everyone affected by Huntington’s diseases live life to their full potential. 

“Huntington's Disease Association offers information and support to people and their families affected by Huntington's disease. Huntington's disease is a life-limiting, genetic condition affecting around 8,000 people across England and Wales with a further 25,000 at risk of developing the disease. 

We have achieved many things in the past year - from the further development of our patient participation group, HD Voice which now boasts over 20 members who review publications, online resources and give feedback to researchers on Huntington’s projects to piloting the Care Home Accreditation Scheme to relaunching our revamped HDA Message Board. We also fund aspects of social research around Huntington's disease. Across England and Wales our Specialist Huntington's Disease Advisors work closely with families to provide practical support and information. Your donation helps us to achieve all of this and more.” 

Hannah Longworth, Community Fundraising Co-ordinator at Huntington's Disease Association

To find out more about Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Charity please visit noahsarkcharity.org and for Huntington's Disease Association visit www.hda.org.uk. We’re delighted to have supported Dai and Lionel, who completed the trek earlier this year and managed to raise over £2,000 to split between both of these amazing charities! A huge well done to both!