Bury St Edmunds man set for 48-mile 48-hour fund-raising challenge in aid of Warm Baby Project

A four-mile run, every four hours, for 48 hours – that is the tough physical challenge being taken on by a Bury St Edmunds man for a cause close to his heart.

James Walters, 23, will embark on his fund-raiser on August 10, after seeing his girlfriend Olivia Cundell’s organisation – the Warm Baby Project – grow and develop.

Mechanic James, who will move from RAF Honington to RAF Marham at the end of the month, decided to support the Warm Baby Project after learning how much it cost to post aid packages for Ugandan newborns and a refugee camp in Greece.

The project sees volunteer knitters make items, such as hats, blankets and bonding squares, for babies in need.

It was started by Olivia in 2018 with one volunteer knitter making items for one hospital, but now the Facebook group has more than 65,000 members who are involved with supporting hospitals and projects around the world.

James has watched the project grow, often seeing their home filled with hand-made items ready to send to various hospitals and baby banks.

“It all went from seeing what Olivia does,” said James. “When I found out it cost £20 to send a package to Uganda I thought I would set myself a challenge to raise funds towards postage and it all went from there.

“Knitting is not my forte but I go running every evening and I’ve found four or five different routes of four miles I can go around. I’m quite new to Bury so it gives me an excuse to explore.”

James will undertake the 48-mile challenge on August 10 and hopes, with Olivia’s support, he might be able to rest between each run.

He has already beaten his initial £1,000
fund-raising target but said every additional donation would enable the project to help more families.

To sponsor James, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/wbpjames?utm_term=BZ6Pe7zxv