Goring man’s 30-day challenge to raise money for charity

Mark Baumfield, managing director at Southern Motor Contracts, chose to support Rowans Hospice near Portsmouth, a charity which he said is close to the hearts of many of his staff.

The 35-year-old said: “The whole thing was a bit off the cuff really. I was talking to the guys at work and said I wanted to do something to charity, so we threw lots of things around and thought ‘well, I could do all of them I suppose’.

“So, I decided to do something each day throughout November and got lots of different ideas from friends, family and work colleagues and put together the list.”

Mark has done his fair share of different challenges, but some of them have challenged him more than others.

He added: “The ones that have challenged me the most are doing roly-polys around a football pitch, I did a 12-hour walk which was very tough, drinking a pint of eggs wasn’t particularly pleasant, and I also completed a half marathon.”

Carol Milner, director of people services and income generation at Rowan’s Hospice, said: “We are so grateful to Mark for creating his own 30-day event in support of Rowans Hospice Charity and have been absolutely blown away by the commitment he has shown during these unbelievable challenges.

“We have been truly inspired by the whole team at Southern Motor Contracts who have organised such an incredible fundraiser.”

Mark’s fundraiser target was £2,500, but he managed to raise double that, with a total of £5,070 for Rowan’s Hospice.

Mark said: “I am delighted it’s done now, it was fun and I am very pleased I managed to exceed my target of £2,500.

“It is for an amazing charity and I hope it inspires more people to go and push themselves to raise money for charities who are in need of support in the absence of crucial fundraising events due to Covid.”