Media Centre

Dorset Coastal Trek

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Students and teachers to take part in third annual Dorset Coastal Walk for Bowel Cancer UK

Students and teachers from Ely Community College and Prince William School will trek 40 miles along the Dorset Coast this month to raise funds for charity Bowel Cancer UK. The annual hike is being organised by ECC's head of P.E. Damien Whales in memory of his father Malcolm, who died from bowel cancer.

Students will be sponsored by friends and family, and Damien aims to raise £15,000 to donate to Bowel Cancer UK. In between daily 10-mile walking stints, the hikers will camp along the South West Coastal Path.

Damien set up the trek in 2009, after his father passed away. While the trek is always great fun for his students, he also wants them to grasp the importance of what they are doing. "My dad always enjoyed walking as a pastime. The trek is a great opportunity to honour his memory while helping to raise awareness of the disease that took his life at just 55 years of age," he said.

"There has been an amazing show of support from parents and the community, to the extent that we won't have to buy any food for the trip because it's all been donated! We are also being generously sponsored by a number of local businesses." Damien and the trek participants hope that sponsorship will enable them to keep down their transport costs, too, so that they can donate the maximum amount of contributions to Bowel Cancer UK.

To help Damien reach his goal of £15,000 this year, visit his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/MalcolmWhales2011 or the trek's website at http://www.malcolmwhales.co.uk/.