One involves walking along a wall in China; the other often involves hitting it on the streets in London.
But, undaunted, a trio of staff members at a north-east charity are helping to support the work it carries out by undertaking extreme challenges in the coming months.
The employees at CLAN Cancer Support in Aberdeen, have been inspired by the important work carried out by the charity, and have decided to push themselves to raise money for the organisation.
Tina O’Boyle, whose day-to-day job involves providing advice and support to young people affected by cancer, is busy training to walk the Great Wall of China in October.
Her colleague, Sarah Cuthill is following suit between 11 and 19 October, but for quite different reasons. She herself was a client of the charity eight years ago, when her mother, Diane, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
Ms Cuthill said: “Working here makes you feel passionate about the work we do. The services my brother and I were able to access were so important.
“When your parent has cancer, you work hard to be supportive but that can be very difficult, particularly when you are young.”
Mrs O’Boyle added: “I see for myself every day how important CLAN is, and it made sense to raise money to help the services keep going. It can be very difficult for children to understand cancer, and we work with the youngsters, as well as school and health professionals to try to make sense of what’s happening.”
The organisation’s Karen Gardner is also raising money to support those affected by cancer, when she takes part in the London Marathon on April 28. She has been following a training plan since Christmas, and has organised several fundraising events to help her reach her £2000 target.
She said: “Everyone tells me the marathon is a really emotional experience, but I know that I will be thinking of the hundreds of people CLAN supports, not just in Aberdeen but at centres across the area.”
The organisation’s chief executive, Dr Colette Backwell, said: “I am always moved by the things that individuals and organisations do to raise funds that allow us to support so many people affected by cancer. Our amazing staff work hard every day to ensure that we can support as many people as possible as close to their homes as possible.”
