Rory Best begins 180-mile walk to Mayo to support children with cancer

TODAY (Wednesday), former Ulster, Ireland, British and Irish Lions captain Rory Best is putting his best foot forward as he commences a 180-mile walking challenge to support Cancer Fund for Children, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Throughout his journey Rory will be joined for short periods by families affected by cancer as well as some notable names from Irish and Ulster rugby, including Tommy Bowe, Jacob Stockdale, Tadhg Furlong, Rob Kearney, Robert Balacoune, Bundee Aki and Conor Murray as well as TV chef Neven Maguire.

Over the next nine days Rory will walk from Cancer Fund for Children’s therapeutic short break centre, Daisy Lodge, in Newcastle, County Down, to the site of a proposed second Daisy Lodge in Cong, in south Mayo. He will pass through counties Down, Armagh, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo, and Mayo, taking in more than 30 towns and villages along the way.

“My family and friends will tell you that I’m not a fan of walking. Walking 180 miles in nine days will be tough but nowhere near as tough as the challenges that families dealing with childhood cancer face,” says Rory.

“I’m not only taking on this challenge to raise vital funds but also awareness of the impact cancer has on the lives of children and young people.

“Already an incredible €272,794.18 has been raised and I would like to thank our fantastic sponsors, local schools, clubs and businesses for getting behind me. If you can, please donate to my challenge and cheer me on as I pass through your towns and villages.”

Rory has taken on this challenge in a bid to raise €500,000 for Cancer Fund for Children, a charity that is close to his heart. For children with cancer, their childhood can be devastated by months of chemotherapy sessions, hospital stays, and time away from their family and friends. Cancer Fund for Children’s mission is to ensure the children don’t have to face this cancer journey alone and last year they provided emotional support to over 1,500 young people.

The charity’s services include restorative breaks at Daisy Lodge, which is set at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. Short breaks allow families to spend quality time together in a safe and nurturing environment, far removed from hospital wards and treatment regimes.

However, for every family the charity can support across Ireland there are another six they cannot which is why they urgently need to build a second facility in Co. Mayo.

Cancer Fund for Children’s CEO, Phil Alexander, said: “We would like to wish Rory a massive good luck as he steps up to this enormous challenge. The team at Cancer Fund for Children will be supporting him all the way. We would also like to thank our sponsors Kingsbridge Private Hospital and Ardonagh Insurance Group, SlurryKat, EUROSPAR and ViVOXTRA, Greg Mitchell Motors, Elave Skincare, HSM NI and White’s Oats for helping make Rory’s Miles 2 Mayo happen.”

To donate to Rory’s Miles 2 Mayo for Cancer Fund for Children, go to https://cancerfundforchildren.ie/ or donate to Rory’s JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/rorysmiles2mayoie

You can follow Rory’s journey at:

Instagram: @rorybest2

Instagram: @daisylodge4mayo

Facebook: @cancerfundchildren

Twitter: @cancerfundchild