A 92-year-old woman has been described as a “star” after completing a five-mile sponsored walk in the sunshine.
Joyce Doel, who lives in Norton Hall Farm, completed a portion of the Greenway route as part of Letchworth Rotary Club’s annual fundraiser yesterday.
As well as raising funds for Rotary and its chosen charities, she will also be donating some of her sponsorship money to Garden House Hospice Care and the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
She told the Comet: “I did the walk on Sunday and it was perfect weather for it.
“It was a big challenge, but I’m happy to have raised more than £700 in sponsorship and I’m very grateful for the support.
“When you get older you either work at keeping yourself going or not. So I keep working at keeping myself going mentally and physically, and it pays off.”
Her training included walks to Embroiderers’ Guild meetings at the Letchworth Settlement and back home again – a round trip of 2.5 miles, and regularly swimming sessions at Nuffield Health.
Having set herself the five-mile challenge for two consecutive years, raising about £1,300 in total, Joyce has decided she will not take part in the event next year due to health issues.
Organiser Bob Mills from the Rotary club described Joyce as a “star”, praising the many other walkers and runners who took part – which included teams from the Heritage Foundation, various Scout groups from Letchworth, Arlesey and Stevenage, Norton St Nicholas Primary School and more.
The Rotary club’s president Peter Jackson added: “It was a fantastic day. The weather was perfect and as always it was a great day out for everyone involved – we thank them all.
“Our annual walk is ideal for local organisations and charities to raise badly needed funds to help pay for the excellent things they do each year. We’re pleased the Rotary walk is such an important event for them all.”
A percentage of the money raised goes to Rotary funds which are spent giving grants to groups and individuals in the community over the next year.
Overall, more than 300 sponsored walkers took part in raising more than £7,500 alongside Joyce.
The club have already started planning for next year’s event, which will take place on Sunday, May 19. For more information go to lgcrotary.org.uk.
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