David raised more than £15,000 for various charities, including the Bobby Moore Fund, the Norfolk Hospice and Great Ormond Street Hospital, during a three year period.
Grand East Anglia RunDavid was part of a team of runners who helped to raise thousands of pounds for the Norfolk Hospice by taking part in GEAR - a 10KM run around the historic town of King's Lynn held on Sunday, May 6 2012.
David was one of the top fundraisers for the Norfolk Hospice out of the 21 runners taking part in the annual event and was delighted to finish 291st out of 1,700 runners. He was also thrilled to have finished in a time of 46 minutes which was six minutes quicker than his practice attempts at 10km. David has always wanted to take part in a London Marathon and saw this event as the first stepping stone towards that goal. Asked shortly after if he still wants to run a marathon, he said: "Absolutely but I think I might need to clock up a few more of these runs and half-marathons before I attempt a marathon." For more information about the Norfolk Hospice, click here. |
Big Bike Ride for Great Ormond StreetIn April 2012, David was delighted to take part in a 212-mile static bike ride challenge to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. The distance was the equivalent of pedalling from King's Lynn to the London hospital and back. David came up with the idea for the challenge after friend and colleague, Ian Burt, told him it had been two years since his youngest son Calum had a life-changing at the famous London hospital. Both David and Ian clocked up 106 miles each in ten hours on exercise bikes in the Vancouver Quarter (King's Lynn) and raised more than £2,500 for the charity.
EDP: King's Lynn pair cycling 212 miles for Great Ormond Street HoldTheFrontPage: Photographer takes on charity ride for hospital Norwich Evening News: King's Lynn pair cycling for Great Ormond Street King's Lynn Online: Burty's Big Bike Ride is a big success DownhamWeb: Burty's Big Bike Ride an amazing success! iWitness (Video): Burty's Big Bike Ride David's Blog: Big Bike Challenge for Great Ormond Street Hospital For more information about the Great Ormond Street Hospital, click here. |
Bobby Moore Fund Project Namibia 2011In June 2011, David took part in a Bobby Moore Fund-led international project. This was the second overseas charity project David had been involved in after getting his first taste of an international project the previous year (see below). On this project, David flew out to the Tubusis settlement in the Damaraland region of Namibia with a large group of volunteers and spent 10 days giving Tubusis Primary School a much-needed facelift. The school had eight classrooms which all needed general repairs to walls, paint work, doors, ceilings and windows. The school's library, however, needed a major revamp and saw volunteers install new floors and converted part of the library into a computer room. David said: "I have a brilliant time out in Namibia and hopefully we made a huge difference to the lives of all the pupils at Tubusis Primary School as well as the surrounding area."
David's Blog: Project Namibia: A trip of a lifetime For more information about the Bobby Moore Fund, click here. |
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Blackie's Big Bike Ride 2011As well as taking part in two Bobby Moore Fund-led international projects, David raised £300 for the charity by hopping onto an exercise bike and "cycling" from King's Lynn to Calais - a staggering 223km - in one day! He started at 8am on Thursday, April 14 in the Vancouver Quarter in the heart of King's Lynn and "arrived" in Calais at 5pm - much to David's delight! The story of David's challenge was covered by various media organisations including Eastern Daily Press, Lynn News, KL.FM, Wisbech Standard, Cambs Times, Fenland Citizen and HoldTheFrontPage.
HoldTheFrontPage: Reporter completes 139-mile charity bike ride Eastern Daily Press: Reporter on sponsored ride from Norfolk to France Cambs Times: Village footballer raises hundreds with exercise bike ride DownhamWeb: Blackie's ride from King's Lynn to Calais David's Blog: Blackie's Big Bike Ride - JOB DONE! For more information about the Bobby Moore Fund, click here. |
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Bobby Moore Fund Project South Africa 2010David got his first taste of an international charity project after travelling to a remote community in South Africa with 36 other volunteers in March 2010 to renovate a dilapidated school and build a football pitch in partnership with the local population. The project, led by bowel cancer research charity Bobby Moore Fund, gave the local children the chance to continue their education in their own village, close to their families, rather than being obliged to move away. The team spent several days working on the project and, on the final day, there was be a 'handover ceremony' to the local community. Reflecting on his experience, David said: “During our time in the remote village of Sandberg, we constructed a new building, laid a football pitch and carried out massive improvements at the school. Despite the transformation of the school, the biggest thing that really hit home for me was seeing that the schoolchildren had nothing to do during their lunch breaks except seek shelter from the sun - a stark contrast to children in England. It was great to spend time getting to know the schoolchildren and I hope we had a positive impact on the children."
For more information about the Bobby Moore Fund, click here. |
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Other Charitable WorkRadio Redhill, Hospital Radio Lynn and Radio St Helier are registered charities and survive only by donations and through dedicated fundraising. As well as playing the favourite songs of hospital patients, David has helped with outside broadcast events which have raised vital money for both stations.
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