Peel L&P and The Christie Charity have announced more than £47,000 has been raised from the first Bridgewater Way Walk.
Over 450 walkers took part in the five-mile challenge to raise a fantastic £47,467 to support the services provided by Manchester’s world-class cancer centre, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
The event which was organised by family-run regeneration business Peel L&P and delivered in partnership with The Christie, was the biggest charity event to ever take place along The Bridgewater Canal, in its 260-year history.
The walk was a true celebration of partnership working with the event receiving further support from headline sponsors Anchor Group Services and Securitas.
Starting at Trafford Palazzo, plenty of themed entertainment was planned to hype up the walkers who were taking on the challenge. Fitness instructors got the walkers warmed up; glitter artists painted themed tattoos and the Christie bear mascot appeared in plenty of pre-walk selfies.
The walk also brought together the Bridgewater Canal boating community. Widely considered and recognised as the first true canal in England; The Bridgewater Canal is a very popular leisure waterway with many cruising boaters. The cruising community lined the canal with their boats decorated with themed balloons and bunting and plenty of the cruisers volunteered to hand out refreshments and kept the spirits high of the walkers by playing music and cheering on crowds.
The event finished in style with plenty of festival flare. The steel drum band brought the carnival to Castlefield, entertaining finishers of the walk whilst they collected their medals, enjoyed refreshments from independent street food operators and had fun whilst taking part in classic carnival games.
The funds raised through the Bridgewater Way Walk will go towards supporting The Christie’s pioneering Bloods Closer to Home Service.
Taking a blood sample is vital for patients to check how their organs are functioning and their protein levels which can also act as markers to see how the patient is responding to treatment. The blood sampling process takes less than a couple of minutes, however some patients have had to do a two-hour roundtrip to get to The Christie’s Withington site.
The Bloods Closer to Home Service allows patients to book their own appointments online at a time that suits them and in a location that is convenient for them, which drastically cuts down travel times which can be draining for patients needing frequent testing on top of undergoing treatment. The service currently operates from 11 convenient locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire; it is funded by The Christie Charity and run by Christie staff.
Anna McIntosh, Corporate Development Manager from The Christie Charity said: “Thank you so much to Peel L&P and everyone that supported The Bridgewater Way Walk.
“Supporting The Christie charity and the Bloods Closer to Home service means a huge amount and donations made as a result of the event will directly improve services and help us support patients by making treatments more accessible in the surrounding area for many years to come.”
Gail Ball, Project Manager at Peel L&P and who took part in The Bridgewater Way Walk, added: “The Christie is an organisation which is very close to my heart. I was diagnosed with Breast cancer five years ago and I had all my treatment through The Christie Hospital.
“The staff and Oncologists at The Christie made the whole experience less scary for me and were very supportive and professional throughout.
“The Bridgewater Way Walk was fun, well organised and I’m so proud of Peel L&P for supporting such a great charity which means so much to so many.”
