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Update on the future of Ned's Fund
Our fundraisers
Here are some of some of the amazing things our fundraisers achieved.
Millie and Jake
On 28th May 2024, Millie (Ned's sister) and her partner Jake cycled the South Downs Way in a day! The South Downs Way is a 100 mile trail with an ascent of 3800m which follows the old routes and droves along the chalk escarpment and ridges of the South Downs. They set off in Eastbourne and finished in Winchester. It was an enormous challenge in some very challenging weather!
They raised a staggering £2000 (including Gift Aid) for Ocean Youth Trust South, an adventure sail training charity which takes young people aged 11-25 to sea in a 30-metre vessel Prolific. Both Millie and Jake are sailors, so know first hand the excitement and challenges of sailing.
Jo
On the 13th-16th April 2024 our founder Jo Marsden and her team of 4 took part in the 2024 AJ Bell 3 Valley Rally to raise invaluable funds for national youth charity Snow Camp. Taking place at Val Thorens, the highest ski resort in Europe, Jo and her team took on challenges such orienteering, biathlon, zip wire, snow shoe hike, team parallel slalom and team distance challenge. Jo was the 5th highest individual fundraiser raising £2,115! Overall the event smashed it's target of £100,000 and pulled in a whopping £130,000!
Since 2003, Snow Camp have been using the power of skiing and snowboarding to break down barriers and broaden horizons for thousands of inner-city young people across the UK. 2024 was Snow Camp's 20th year as national youth charity, and given the increasing challenges young people face across the UK, this was an especially import time to support their mission.
Louisa
On the 14th May and 23rd April 2023 respectively Louisa 'Weezie' Crabtree completed both the Copenhagen and London marathons. Through the generosity of her lovely friends and family, she raised £4,185 for Ned’s Fund!
We are hugely grateful to "Weezie" and everyone who donated. Because of fundraisers like Louisa, Ned's Fund can continue to support charities that make a real difference to the lives of young people.
The 'Fab Three'
On the weekend of the 21st-23rd April May 2022 Jo and her sisters in law walked the 74 mile Isle of Wight Coastal Path, covering roughly 25 miles a day in around 10 hours (with a few stops at some of the fabulous sites the Island has to offer along the way).
In total the trio raised just shy of £5,000 (including GiftAid) and we would like to say a huge thank you to the three of them and to the 100-or-so friends and relations who donated.
Freddy and Minty
On the 15th-17th April 2022 Freddy Marsden and Minty Petch completed the epic Devizes-Westminster race.
The pair finished the 108 mile course in 18 hours, 38 minutes and ten seconds over three days, camping overnight at Newbury and Marlow along the way. They came 4th out of 58 in the junior doubles class; 3rd in the mixed doubles, and their Bryanston boat was the second of the ten school crews. Having finished in 6th place after the first day they moved up to 5th on Saturday and finally grabbed 4th on Sunday. At the same time they smashed through their initial fundraising target of £1,000, and the money they have raised went directly to help other young people participate in challenges of this kind through the five charities we supported at the time.
We would like to say an enormous thank you to all those who supported their epic paddle from Devizes to Teddington Lock over the Easter weekend, navigating their kayak along the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames with countless locks (not to mention Bank Holiday cruisers, longboats, and of course swans).
Alex and Friends
On the 16th-17th July 2021, Alex Martin and 11 of Ned's other friends completed the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, smashing their fundraising target and raising nearly £9,000! We can't thank them enough for their support which will enable us to continue to support our chosen charities.
Lutie
On the 8th November 2020, Lutie Akinci ran the Istanbul Marathon in some style. Finishing 3rd Turkish female and amongst elites and professionals, Lutie put in an astonishing performance.
Not only did she do incredibly well, she smashed the fund raising target for Ned’s Fund - thank you so much to everyone who donated. Here are some words from Lutie:
"A day in the life of being professional... just for one day...
"I finished 3rd Turkish female!!!! From 4000 runners, 3 places behind the Kenyan elites and two in front of me were Turkish professionals, insane! I was part of a huge presentation prize giving with all the Kenyans!
"Very exciting day the race it’s self was very quiet as they had to do social distancing route etc so that was a shame as not many crowds, thankfully mum and dad were able to see me three times which kept me going! What a day, and one to remember!!!
"Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, it’s really appreciated and let’s hope we can change more lives together!
"Lutie xx"
Mike
Over 2020, Mike Swinyard completed 4 marathons in Malta, Seville, Marrakech, and Funchal. He had hoped to complete 10 although was unfortunately hindered by the pandemic. Mike said:
"Unfortunately, due to COVID19, the Barcelona, Rome and Vienna marathons have already been cancelled and I expect more to come. This is very sad for me as have been training for this for a long time! I am looking at other options so I can continue to complete the 10 marathons. I am sorry to anybody who donated, however it might be the only option that I complete the 10 marathons over an extended time period. The fact that the marathons have been cancelled does not stop how great Ned’s Fund is, so please do still donate!"
We are hugely grateful to Mike for this immense effort and to all those who donated.
Francyne
In January 2019 Fancyne Thompson bravely challenged herself to spend three days dog sledding across Sweden (around 5-7 hours a day). Francyne spent her time in the wilderness, where she learnt how to live like the Sami people at the base camps, and raised £3,300.
“When I came across the Artic Challenge, I knew this was the one for me. I was ready for a physical and mental challenge and this definitely gave me that! I wanted to try and relate to Ned and all those dealing with similar challenges in life, and I wanted to prove that you can get through it.
"I’ve done a few challenges over the years but this was by far the hardest. Every day in -40 degrees felt like years and it really made me think how hard it must be for those that struggle every day.
"I’m glad I could help raise money for Ned’s Fund so that they can give support to other young people facing their own challenges but most of all I’m glad I could do it for my brother Jono (Ned’s childhood friend), Ned’s family & most of all Ned.”
Callum
In 2019 Callum decided to shave his head to raise money for Ned's Fund! He raised an incredible amount of £1,260.
"I didn’t know Ned personally, but I’ve experienced losing a close family member to suicide so I understand that pain. Seeing that same impact on Ned’s family and once again seeing the risk that young people are under, I wanted to do something. In the middle of a rugby season in France, there wasn’t loads of fundraising options but I knew everyone would want to see me bald, so I decided to shave my hair off. The fundraising surpassed my expectations as people got behind the great work that Ned’s fund is doing. Thank you for all the contributions. I am grateful I was able to help support a great cause."
Lucy and Emily
Emily and Lucy Harris (Ned's first cousins) took part in the Glasgow Half Marathon on the 29th September 2019.
"We chose to run the Great Scottish Run (half marathon) in September to fundraise for Ned’s Fund as this was something that would challenge us both mentally and physically. When we entered back in April neither of us were keen runners and felt a little out of our comfort zones; it was having our ‘why’ and Ned always in our thoughts that pushed us through the training and the run. It was amazing to be able to contribute to a great cause that is very close to our hearts. Fundraising is so important to raise awareness and inform people of the work smaller funds like Ned’s Fund do."
Sam and friends
A huge thank you to Sam Luxton for organising the Tough Mudder fundraiser back in May. We raised over £6,000 and it was great to see everyone come together and get stuck in.
"As a very close friend to the Harris family, I was very upset to hear the tragic news of Ned’s passing. Unfortunately, Ned is not the first person, or young adult I know that has taken their own life. Therefore, to show support and empathy to the Harris’s, and anyone else that has or is feeling in a similar situation. I brought together our closest friends to do Tough Mudder and raise money in support of Ned’s Fund. Along with a brilliant pub quiz that involved over 100 of Midhurst’s local residents, we collectively raised over £6,000 for Ned’s Fund. I am entirely confident in Jo and the rest of the team, that this money will be used to offer young adults real life solutions to life’s everyday challenges, and help massively reduce the chances of another young adult from making such a heart-breaking decision."
Ascot
We are hugely grateful to Ascot for their support. A few years ago, Andrew Brookes, then CEO, said:
"Ascot continues to support the great work that Ned's Fund is doing to deal with the problems young people face growing up. Suicide is something whose tragedy is often not discussed, and only by raising awareness and tackling the difficult root cause, can we lessen the frequency. To do this, it is important that companies and individuals give generously to charities who's work helps young people and their families."
Andrew Brookes, then Chief Executive Officer at Ascot Insurance Group
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