HAVE A HEART EVENT – SATURDAY 20TH MARCH - ARMY FITNESS CHALLENGE

Gloucestershire to Afghanistan in 12 Hours: The Army’s Cycle Challenge raising money for seriously ill children in Gloucestershire

The Army are joining forces with Fitness First and are attempting to cycle 5826km, the distance from Gloucester to the Kandahar, which is the Army’s base camp in Afghanistan.

A team of over 40 people, made up from new recruits heading into the army and staff and gym members from Fitness First in Cheltenham, will be attempting to cycle the distance all within 12 hours at the Brewery in Cheltenham from 10am – 10pm this Saturday. 

They’re taking on the mammoth cycle ride to raise funds for the radio stations ‘Have a Heart Appeal’ , which is supporting the work of Starlight. Providing year-round entertainment for children in hospital wards across the UK including here in Gloucestershire, Starlight make a stay in hospital that little less daunting and also bring the dreams of
seriously ill children alive by providing wishes, such as meeting
a favourite pop star or training with a sporting hero.

The ‘Have a Heart Appeal’ hopes to raise enough money to pay for Starlight Fun Centres in every region broadcast to by Heart, including here in Gloucestershire, and to fund some magical wishes to improve the lives of sick children.

Throughout the day on Saturday, at the Brewery in Cheltenham, competitors will be taking it in turns to do 30 minutes on the spinning bikes every two hours and all are being sponsored for their efforts! You can sponsor the challenge at: www.justgiving.com/armysfitnesschallenge

You can also come along to The Brewery to support the team by putting some coins in the collecting boxes to help
sick children locally.

Contact: Will Nunan, will.nunan@heart.co.uk  
Tel: 01452 57 24 54

To find out more information on the Have a Heart
appeal and how to get involved and to download a
fundraising pack, visit www.heart.co.uk

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Have a Heart Starlight Fun Centres

The new fun centres will incorporate the latest technology including HD flat screen TV, Nintendo Wii and the latest games and film releases all straight to young patients’ bedsides.

Fun Centres can reduce the pain and anxiety felt by children in hospital, transforming their hospital experience and can even help reduce the amount of pain relief required.

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Wishes

For some of these desperately and terminally ill children, Have a Heart can help Starlight grant magical wishes, creating happy memories for the whole family to share, whatever the future holds. Wishes. A wish brings a childs dream to life, by meeting their favourite celebrity or doing something they’ve always wanted to do:

Abbi, aged 12, who has cancer, enjoyed her wish of a lifetime swimming with her favourite creatures – dolphins. 

Her mum said: “Abbi has not stopped talking about how much she enjoyed it. Thank you very much for making her dream come true.”

Have a Heart could even help Starlight’s children win their brave battle. Some 70% of children who receive a wish go on to get better.