‘Movers and Shakers’ go the extra miles to raise money for MS Trust

When the Coronoavirus lockdown ended plans to get out to raise money, this time for the MS Trust, Claire decided she had to get inventive.

So, with the help of a couple of friends she decided that during the lockdown they would use their daily exercise to walk the circumference of Northern Ireland - 334 miles. And so Team Movers and Shakers was born.

However, soon other friends, and friends of friends, wanted to join in and the team expanded to 27 people taking part and their plans became much more ambitious. “Originally a small group of friends planned to walk around the circumference of Northern Ireland,” explained Claire, who was diagnosed with MS in 2018. “More people joined the team and we had completed this distance in the first few days. We increased the target to 900 miles (the circumference of the island of Ireland) even more people joined the team and I realised that this target was still too low. We achieved 900 miles by day 12 and now we are continuing our journey across Europe aiming for 2000 miles.”

There are team members from across Northern Ireland, as well as further afield and everyone is enjoying the experience. “I wanted to support Claire, she is a dear friend and a real inspiration who has such a lust for life,” said team member Amanda Kirkpatrick.

Claire added; “I love getting people together and during this pandemic, it has forced many people apart. This challenge has formed a bond in a group of people that don’t know each other. We have came together to reach a joint goal and inspire others to take on the journey.”

If you would like to make a donation visit https://milesforms2020.everydayhero.com/uk/claire-2