Determined Danni reaches half-way stage of 12-month charity challenge

Crematorium Assistant Danni Sear decided 12 charity challenges in 12 months was not pushing herself enough – so she has added a further two events to her schedule.

The 29-year-old has reached the half-way stage of her packed programme of fundraising walks, runs and events and despite some sore feet is showing no signs of slowing down.

Danni, who is based at Charing Crematorium in Kent, has so far raised £728 for a number of different charities and worthy organisations.

After designating January as a ‘planning month’ and opting to take on two challenges in October to make 12 for the year, she got off to a flying start in February by walking more than 58 miles – smashing her target of 28 miles.

It all began on a personal note, as she explained: “After having three children, my body had changed in ways that made me feel less confident. Wanting to feel better about myself, I decided to make a positive change.

“I thought, what better way to do that than to regularly exercise by completing charity walking and running events. This inspired me to initially choose 12 charities to raise money for, some of which are very close to me.

“Each event I am doing is different; some are organised events taking place on certain dates in certain places and others are targets for self-run walks across the month.

“As I’ve gone along, I’ve added two extra challenges so far this year and I’m hoping to pick up some more whenever I can.

“One of the extra challenges I took on was definitely the hardest so far – a 40km walk which started at midnight and involved hiking through the night in pouring rain, trying to get to the top of steep mud slides within the woodlands.

“It wasn’t easy, but I aced it!

“The Poppy Hike for the Royal British Legion in May was the most shocking so far, because I was first over the finish line, which was an incredible achievement and a very proud moment for me.”

The organisations Danni is supporting are: Mental Health UK, Combat Stress, Alzheimer’s Society, Royal British Legion, Pilgrims Hospices in East Kent, Cancer Research UK, The Polycystic Ovaries Self-Help Group, Parkinson’s UK, Heart of Kent Hospice, The Salvation Army, Lions Club International, Tommys, a pregnancy/baby loss charity, and the RBLI, which provides employment support to members of the armed forces community.

Her next event is a 5K Muddy Park Run in aid of Cancer Research UK, where a couple of her colleagues from Charing Crematorium will be joining her.

The crematorium itself will be the venue for one of the fund-raisers, hosting a week of Tea, Cakes and Talks in October, during Pregnancy and Baby Loss Awareness Week.

Charing Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with 41 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, and which is trusted by more families than any other provider to deliver funerals for their loved ones.

All of Westerleigh's locations are set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide peaceful places for people to visit and reflect, while benefitting from exceptional care and support from its teams.

Danni added: “Westerleigh Group has always been very big on supporting charities and working together, we can raise even more for my chosen causes.

“The company has given me branded shirts and is also making a donation to each of the charities I am supporting, for which I am very grateful.

“Knowing that I work for such a giving company, I knew that I wanted to do something to make a difference, too.”

Regular updates on Danni’s progress are being posted on the crematorium’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CharingCrematorium where you can also find links for making donations if you want to support any of the charities she is raising money for.

For more information about Charing Crematorium, and the exceptional care and support it provides to its local communities, visit www.charing-crematorium.co.uk.