An English World War II veteran who has been walking laps around his back garden has raised over £2.6 million pounds ($3.3 million) for the NHS in just one week.
[UPDATE 4/20: He went on to raise 10x that much – After WWII Vet Makes History By Raising $33 Million for NHS, People Are Calling for Him to Be Knighted]
99-year-old Tom Moore says the NHS have been “marvelous” in helping him recover from a hip replacement and skin cancer on his head over the last couple of years.
As a way of saying thank you, the former civil engineer has been doing daily laps of his 25-meter-long (82-foot) garden with the aim of walking 100 lengths by his 100th birthday on April 30th.
Moore, who began his walks last Monday on April 6th, initially set a fundraising target of £1,000 for NHS Charities Together with the sole expectation of garnering support from his village of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
After hitting international headlines last week, however, Moore has quickly smashed through his target and has now raised over millions for frontline health workers fighting the novel coronavirus.
“I thank the British public from the bottom of my heart,” Moore told BBC. “It’s difficult to imagine all these kind people who have donated so far. It’s just amazing.”
Moore’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, who set up the fundraising page for him, has had to raise his target three different times from £1,000 to £100,000, then to £250,000 and £500,000.
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She later took to Twitter to say: “We are overwhelmed by the response. It’s extraordinary.”
Although Moore has already smashed his original donation goal, he is now hoping to complete another 100 laps of his yard to continue raising money for the NHS. To support Moore’s charity efforts, be sure and visit his Just Giving crowdfunding page.
This is just one of many positive stories and updates that are coming out of the COVID-19 news coverage this week. For more uplifting coverage on the outbreaks, click here.
2 MILLION POUNDS!
— Captain Tom Moore (@captaintommoore) April 14, 2020
When I started this journey last Monday, my target was £1,000 for our incredible #NHS
Since this morning, we have raised another £1.2 million pounds.
No words left...just thank you.#walkwithtom @BBCBreakfast @itvanglia @piersmorgan @louiseminchin
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