St. Modwen Homes is sponsoring one of their Bagnall Meadows residents to the tune of £500, helping them to fundraise for SSAFA (Soldiers’, Sailors’ & Airmen’s’ Families Association) and complete the grueling Mount Toubkal Challenge in memory of his loved ones.
With its base in Morocco, Mount Toubkal is the highest mountain in North Africa, reaching a staggering height of 4,167 meters. The Mount Toubkal Challenge is a three-day ascent and descent of the high mountain and the route itself is a difficult mix of rocky and sandy paths, grassy meadows, isolated patches of snow, and flowing rivers. This challenge is a true test of endurance and skill that attracts many adventurers with a worthy cause to fundraise for.
Andrew Richards, a resident at St. Modwen Homes’ Bagnall Meadows development, said: “I served in the army between 1992 and 2014. In 2014, just before I left the forces, my father was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. He rapidly became very ill and our family wanted to raise some money towards an adjustable hospital type bed, but we fell short. SSAFA was the only charity that stepped up to help and bridged the financial gap.”
“My father sadly lost his battle with cancer in January 2015 and I vowed to do something for SSAFA to help pay back the kindness they had shown me and my family during this time.”
As Andrew was getting over his father’s death, his wife passed away very unexpectedly from a condition called ‘sudden adult death syndrome’, a diagnosis used when someone dies following a cardiac arrest and no obvious cause can be found. After all, he had been through, Andrew got back on his feet and rebuilt his life, he then was given the opportunity to take part in the Mount Toubkal challenge.
Andrew added: “In December 2018, I got the opportunity to take part in the Mount Toubkal challenge with Openreach and SSAFA. Fundraising was a very slow burner to start with, but I approached the sales team at Bagnall Meadows to see if St. Modwen Homes would be interested in sponsoring me and they very generously donated £500. This put me above the thousand-pound mark and gave me the motivation I needed to keep going.
“The trek up the mountain was amazing. Very hard but incredibly rewarding. I can’t thank St. Modwen Homes enough for their generous donation which helped me raise £2,600 in total for SSAFA.”
Dave Smith, Managing Director at St. Modwen Homes, said: “Andrew’s story really touched us and we are so happy that we were able to help him complete this difficult challenge.
“In addition to building high-quality homes, we want to support our residents and local communities – it’s a really important part of who we are and what we do. It’s truly amazing to see how much this donation has helped Andrew and impacted the lives of many others.”
To find out more about the work SSAFA does, please visit http://www.ssafa.org.uk.
St. Modwen Homes’ donation to Andrew is just one of the many contributions being made by the housebuilder towards community facilities and infrastructure it builds in.
