Two members of staff from a national military charity are preparing to drive through an incredible 24 countries in just five days. The funds raised will be going to the blind veterans their charity supports.
Chief of Staff, Nathan Muirhead and Head of Transport, Chris Kirk are both employees of Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.
The drive, which begins on Monday 8 May, will see Nathan and Chris take in an incredible 24 countries, including but not limited to, France, Switzerland, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and Turkey. Nathan says: “It’s enormously ambitious so we’re going to be looking for all the help we can get! With a target of 24 countries in only five days, we’ll likely be driving up to 16 hours a day, which equates to about 1000 miles each day!”
The charity provides free, lifelong support to help blind and vision-impaired veterans regain their confidence and independence. Despite currently supporting more blind veterans than ever before, it has set an ambitious target to double the number of veterans who receive its life-changing support by 2022. Nathan explains: “The blind veteran population is ageing and in five years, more than 40 per cent of the veterans we support will be over 90. In order to ensure our beneficiaries continue to receive the high standard of support we offer, we’ve invested in community-based teams of social care and rehabilitation professions. As a result, the services we provide will be closer to those that need them.”
Nathan continues: “While this is certainly a daunting challenge, we’re looking forward to raising the profile of the charity and the services we provide. Every penny raised will go towards supporting those brave men and women who’ve served their country and now lost their sight.”
With the prospect of 24 countries in just five days, Nathan and Chris have made sure to call on their considerable expertise to ensure no stone has been left unturned in their arrangements. Chris says: “As the Head of Transport I’ve made sure all the preparations have been carefully planned! With the pace we’re aiming to sustain, we’ll be covering roughly one country every four hours, so it was important we were meticulous. We’ve got an efficient and safe route through all 24 countries and we’re just raring to go now.”
You can support Chris and Nathan’s fundraising efforts in their epic journey by visiting justgiving.com/europechallenge.
Blind Veterans UK was founded in 1915 and the charity’s initial purpose was to help and support soldiers blinded in the First World War. But the organisation has gone on to support more than 35,000 blind veterans and their families, spanning WWII to recent conflicts including Iraq and Afghanistan.
For more than a century, the charity has been providing vital free training, rehabilitation, equipment and emotional support to blind and vision-impaired veterans no matter when they served or how they lost their sight. Visit blindveterans.org.uk/support to learn more about the charity and how you can support its vital work today.
For all media enquiries please contact:
Felix Arbenz-Caines
PR Assistant
Blind Veterans UK
12 – 14 Harcourt Street
London
W1H 4HD
E: Felix.Arbenz-Caines@blindveterans.org.uk
T: 020 7616 7941
Blind Veterans UK
Blind Veterans UK is a national charity that believes that no-one who has served our country should have to battle blindness alone. Founded in 1915, the charity provides blind and vision impaired ex-Service men and women with lifelong support including welfare support, rehabilitation, training, residential and respite care.
Find out more at: blindveterans.org.uk, follow us on Facebook at: facebook.com/blindveteransuk and on Twitter at: twitter.com/blindveterans.
