Sian Cheesman led a team of five in the Tough Mudder obstacle course on 1 October in Crawley and raised £1,150 for The Royal Star & Garter Homes.
Her brother Stephen Vause receives round-the-clock specialist care at the Charity’s Home in Surbiton, where he has lived since 2015.
Money raised by Team Vause in the Tough Mudder challenge will help the Charity continue to provide award-winning care to ex-Service people and their partners living with disability or dementia.
Stephen was just 19 and on his first tour of Iraq, serving with the 4thBattalion The Rifles, when he suffered brain injuries in a mortar explosion near Basra in 2007 which left him severely disabled.
Now 31, he requires 24-hour care from staff at The Royal Star & Garter Homes. Stephen’s disability means he uses a wheelchair and has limited speech, using a tablet to communicate. He regularly receives physiotherapy at the Home, and staff support him in getting hydrotherapy locally.
The Tough Mudder featured a five-mile course with 13 obstacles designed to test teamwork and toughness.
Sian’s family and friends were there to support Team Vause, cheering and encouraging them along through the gruelling challenge.
To show his support, Stephen undertook his own set of 13 challenges, including lifting weights, sit-ups and hand-eye coordination tasks.
Sian and Stephen’s heroics were also picked up by local media, which resulted in a welcome boost to their fundraising efforts.
Sian, 22, is assistant manager at the Well House Inn in Chipstead, Surrey. She said: “I never thought we’d raise so much money. We’ve had donations from complete strangers and people I haven’t seen since I was at school.”
She said her brother would be delighted and surprised with the amount of money raised, and added: “I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that gave money and shared our story.”
Explaining why she had chosen to raise money for the Charity, Sian said: “The Royal Star & Garter Homes has done a lot for Stephen, it’s time to give something back.”
To sponsor Team Vause go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/teamvause.
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For further information please contact:
Goolistan Cooper
Communications Officer
e: goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org
t: 0208 481 7669 / 07391 868796
Cally Madden
Marketing & Communications Manager
e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org
t: 020 8481 7692 / 07881 017299
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About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide specialist care to the whole military family in our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes. Disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and their spouses, can all benefit from our pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care.
We are in the process of building new Homes around the country to provide specialist nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings, including dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The Charity has award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey, which also enables the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. Following the successes of the first two Homes, a third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is being built, with a planned opening in 2018.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
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Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk.
