A coastal challenge for Horsham Lion

Horsham Lion Tom Osborne sets off on a coastal walk on 6 July 2013, the second leg of a long distance walk challenge that he began last year.

Throughout the walk he plans to raise awareness about Lions Clubs International, one of the world’s largest service organisations.

He will also be raising vital funds for the Lions International Blood Research Appeal (LIBRA) which supports research into new treatments for blood cancers and other disorders.

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Tom’s long term goal is to walk the coast of England & Wales, a distance of 5,500 miles by using beaches, coastal paths and on occasions roads that run as close to the coast as possible when the coast is not accessible. He took up the challenge on September 2, 2012, and to date he has walked from West Wittering in West Sussex, to Sheerness in Kent, which is the coastline of the Lions District 105 SE.

So far Tom has covered a distance of 250 miles.

Looking ahead to the next stage he commented: “Now, on the second leg I will walk the Solent Way, followed by the South West Coastal Path. The route begins at West Wittering and ends at Brixham which works out at around 250 miles. The route could be longer depending on coastal paths and any erosion that causes me to take a detour.

“About a year before my 65th birthday, in August 2012, I decided to dedicate some time to raising the profile of the good work carried out by Lions Clubs and the coastal walk provides me with the perfect opportunity to reach out to the public. I am proud to be wearing a tabard that encourages people to consider joining their local Lions Club.

“The tabard promotes an important message - your community needs you - join your local lions club. I hope that fellow Lions will join me on route and help me to spread the word about the vital role Lions play in their communities. I also plan to promote LIBRA as it is a wonderful Lions project and one which people can easily relate to. I am calling on supporters to sponsor me as all funds raised will benefit the appeal.”

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LIBRA Chairman Andrew Lodge added: “We are grateful to Tom for taking up this challenge and hope that he receives support from fellow Lions and the general public along the way.

“All funds raised for LIBRA will help to cover the cost of clinical trials equipment that is urgently required by the Haematology Department at King’s College Hospital in London. It will be used to develop and test new treatments for blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.”

If you would like to sponsor Tom please visit his Virgin Money Giving Page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/lionswalk

Tom would like to hear from anyone who is interested in joining him along the way.

You can reach him on 01403 241167 or email [email protected]

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