HUB OF HOPE
So many of you have been taking on incredible 100 challenges to support The Captain Tom Foundation and help us continue to spread Captain Tom’s message of hope.
There’s still time to take on your #CaptainTom100. If you need inspiration, you can read about some inspirational challenges below.
Archie’s 100 Night Bivvy Bag Challenge
8-year-old Archie from Cambridge is spending 100 nights sleeping outside on his own in a bivvy bag, with no tent. Some nights Archie’s little brother or friends have been joining him but mainly it's just Archie sleeping outside on his own. So far, it's rained, snowed, reached -4 degrees and on many nights he’s woken up with an icy woolly hat! Archie says that he is spurred on by his fundraising and the thought of inspiring others. Archie has raised over £3,000 so far and will be sleeping outside until July 4th.
George’s 100 miles around Carleton Park Estate
George read Captain Tom’s 100 Steps a few days before the #CaptainTom100 challenge was announced and this inspired him to do something to raise money for others. George wanted to do 100 laps just like Captain Tom but his garden was too small for the challenge, so George and his Mum tracked the walk round the estate where they live and it worked out to be exactly 1 mile, so George decided to walk 100 miles round his estate, walking 5 miles every day, even when it was raining. George was inspired by Captain Tom to support The Captain Tom Foundation. George loves how the Captain Tom Foundation is supporting charities that help young people who are having a tough time. When he started the challenge, he set a fundraising target of £100 but now he’s raised nearly £1,500.
Clare’s 100 Handwritten Letters
Clare’s Captain Tom 100 Challenge was to write personal letters to 100 family and friends. Having remembered that one of Captain Tom’s aims for his Foundation was to combat loneliness, and his vision for helping people with their mental health, she thought this challenge would be a nice way of keeping in touch with people. Clare also wanted to re-capture the essence of receiving a personal note through the letterbox, something that may have been lost in recent years with an increasing reliance on texts and emails. She has now far exceeded her fundraising target of £1,000 and in total has hand delivered or posted 177 letters. Clare says that “keeping in touch with friends and family is so important, especially at difficult times, as it lets others know you care”.
Sam’s 100 laps of Welbeck
5-year-old Sam completed his challenge of running, walking, cycling, scootering and football dribbling 100 laps around Welbeck (just over 50 miles in 4 days). He hoped to raise £100 but has ended up raising nearly £2,500 for The Captain Tom Foundation. Captain Tom was a hero to Sam and inspired him to help others. Sam said he felt very happy having competed his challenge, especially as his friends joined him for his last 10 laps!
Mother and Son 100 Fancy Dress Up Challenge
When Karen and her 7-year-old son Luke from South Wales saw a news report on the 100 challenge, they knew they had to take part. As lovers of fancy dress, they decided to do 100 dress ups by what would have been Captain Tom’s 101st birthday. They used costumes they had, made some and borrowed some. Luke particularly admired Captain Tom and thought he was a great man, which is why they wanted to raise money for The Captain Tom Foundation. When they started their challenge, they aimed to raise £100 but they’ve now raised over £500!
Sally’s 100 Jam Jar Posies
Sally’s Captain Tom 100 Challenge seemed a perfect opportunity for her to give something back - Captain Tom’s inspiration, alongside her passion for flowers and a belief in their capacity to cheer and heal, led Sally to create 100 jam jar flower posies. With the help and support of family, friends, neighbours, Sussex Flower School members, local flower farmers and more, over 100 jars were sold outside Waitrose in Crowborough over the May bank holiday weekend. Sally has raised over £1,500 and said that it was an “absolute honour to have completed a challenge in Captain Tom’s name and to have helped The Foundation in some small way”.
Nigel’s 100 consecutive day run
Nigel Cronin, from Cambridgeshire has been running for 100 consecutive days – he started 31st January and will finish on 10th May. Nigel chose his challenge because he had already commenced a period of consecutive days running, and during mid-March he believed I could continue with this and achieve 100 days, averaging 10km per day. The announcement of the #CaptainTom100 in April was perfect timing to support The Foundation with this personal challenge of his. Nigel chose to support The Captain Tom Foundation as he had supported and followed Captain Tom during his initial NHS fundraising and, like so many other people, found him to be a huge inspiration. He was deeply saddened by his death and wanted to do something that would help his legacy live on. Nigel wants to prove to himself that when he puts his mind (and body!) to a running challenge, he can achieve it, alongside raising a target of £1,000 for The Foundation. He is delighted to see that he has now exceeded this amount and hopes that he can raise even more by the 10th May and beyond.
Hasan’s ‘100 places of worship challenge’
Hasan asked his friends to join him in exploring 100 places of worship in Singapore, having realised that there were numerous places of worship near his home. He’s in year 7 and chose this challenge because he wanted to showcase the cultural and religious diversity of Singapore, and how so many people with diverse ethnic, cultural and religious identities co-exist peacefully together. Hasan followed Captain Tom in his fundraising drive last year and was very inspired by him, so when he saw the challenge on the news, he chose to raise money for The Captain Tom Foundation along with two other charities. Take a look at Hasan’s 100 places of worship journey on Instagram - @homeschoolinghasan.
Handsome Hudson walked 100km
Inspired by Captain Tom’s words “Because one step has the power to inspire one hundred more” Hudson, the black flat coated retriever from Wales, and his human walked 100km for the #CaptainTom100 challenge and made a donation to The Captain Tom Foundation. Their 100 challenge may be over but their adventures continue... You can follow Handsome Hudson on Instagram here.
ForceSelect Team Cycle Challenge
On what would have been Captain Tom’s birthday (30th April), ForceSelect team and friends cycled 100km (60 miles) from their office in Clapham, South London to the village where Captain Tom completed his famous 100 laps of his garden, Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire. Some of the team had never cycled more than 5 miles, so it was a real challenge! The team have raised nearly £3,500 in total.
Sharon’s 100 Portraits
Having rediscovered painting during lockdown, Sharon has decided to paint 100 portraits for her Captain Tom 100 challenge. She has asked people to donate £10 to have their portrait in her ‘Tom Moore Foundation 100 Portraits Book’, and has sent a photo of each sponsor portrait as a keepsake. She is currently just under 50% of her target to raise £1,000 and will keep going and hopes to find more supporters. You can see Sharon’s progression with the 100 portraits by following her on Facebook - The Bobbing Artist.