Walking for CHAS
Tom, 72, in 9-mile walk
A 7 2 - ye a r - o l d grandfather of 10 from Bathgate will walk the Crinan Canal in Argyll and Bute to raise money for a charity which cares for terminally ill children and their families.
Tom Fairlie, who suffers from problems with his knees, will undertake the nine-mile walk for CHAS (Children’s Hospice Across Scotland).
Tom said he came up with idea of rasing money for CHAS as three of his own grandchildren have illness, including cancer of the brain, cystic fibrosis and diabetes.
Tom said: “I wanted to see if we could do something for these kids in hospital.
“These kids should have their whole lives ahead of them, so we should give them as good a life as we possibly can.”
Tom will be supported in his walk by fellow Bathgate men, Councillor Harry Cartmill and Frank Radka, who is currently walking around the United Kingdom.
Councillor Cartmill said: “I can only imagine what these families are going through. So with Tom’s passion and his enthusiasm and along with his story of his grandchildren I was delighted to help in any way that I could.
“Tom’s got a lot of issues with his knees so he is literally going to put himself through pain to help CHAS.
“It’s not going to be a walk in the park.”
“Being involved with something like this is one of the pleasures of being a local councillor.”
Lau ra Cam p b e l l , Community Fundraiser for CHAS was delighted that Tom had decided to raise money and awareness of the charity.
Laura said: “It’s great. It’s nice to know that there’s people out there that are thinking of these families.
“And it’s not just about the donations.
“It’s about promoting us as a charity.
“You never know who could use our service and there’s still a lot of people that still don’t know what we do so you can never underestimate the power of getting it out there on Facebook or in the papers.”
Tom is hoping to complete the challenge on one of the first two Sunday’s in April.
To support Tom on his walk and donate to CHAS visit www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/frank-radka.
I was delighted to help in any way I could