Carleton man to tackle Three Peaks with 2 stone teddy for Blackpool Carers Centre
and live on Freeview channel 276
Paul Howlett, 53, is no stranger to raising money for good causes and the current pandemic has spurred him into action once again.
At the start of lockdown, Paul cycled 29,030 feet - the equivalent of the height of Mount Everest - in fancy dress up and down Devonshire Road for Blackpool Carers Centre, raising £1,160.
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Hide AdHe then decided to take part in his own Ironman triathlon for the Newton Drive-based charity in July, raising a further £551.
Not content with the impressive amount of money he has raised to date, youth hostel manager Paul set himself another challenge for November - the Three Peaks Challenge, with a giant teddy on his back, adding an extra two stone to carry.
Paul said: "A friend of mine in the North East asked if I wanted to join in with the National Three Peaks Challenge, so I saw it as another opportunity to raise money for the carers.
"They've been hit so hard by the pandemic like all charities, and when they reached out to ask for help I was more than happy to.
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Hide Ad"Another friend gave me a giant teddy to use as a raffle prize, but I decided instead to get it involved in the fundraising and use it to help the young carers feel like a part of the challenge too."
The young carers at Blackpool Carers Centre will be tasked with naming the bear, which will have a GoPro camera and satellite tracker attached to it.
"I wanted to make them feel like they're involved each step of the way," Paul continued.
"They may not have the opportunity to climb mountains for a while, so they can follow us on our journey up Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon."
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Hide AdFaye Atherton, director of quality at Blackpool Carers Centre, said: "The pandemic has seriously impacted our fundraising and Paul's fundraising will go towards providing much needed respite and activities for our incredible, selfless carers.
"We cannot thank community fundraisers like Paul enough. He has been coming up with crazy fundraising ideas throughout the pandemic, including cycling the height of Everest up and down Devonshire Road hill in fancy dress, doing his own Ironman-distanced triathlon consisting of 140.6 miles of swimming cycling and running, and now climbing the highest peaks of England, Scotland and Wales with a huge bear.
"Our young carers are looking forward to finding out more about this challenge, and of course meeting and naming the bear and following it on this incredible journey."
To donate towards Paul's challenge for Blackpool Carers Centre, visit his Just Giving page.