‘Walk for Joe’ Parents fundraise for Tommy’s in memory of baby son

A COUPLE from Frome will be walking 100 miles from Looe to Land’s End next month to raise money for Tommy’s in memory of their son, Joe, who died in April, only three and half weeks old.

Robin Spalding and Lou Hart will walk over 100 miles in 12 days from Looe to Land’s End to help raise money for the baby charity Tommy’s, which funds research into the causes and prevention of pregnancy complications that lead to miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.

The couple will be walking in memory of their son Joe who was born premature on the 18th March but died three and a half weeks later on the 12th April.

Robin said, “The walk is called ‘Walk for Joe’  and we’ve planned the walk to be completed in 12 days including two rest days.   We’ll mostly be using the South West Coast path, also cutting across from Falmouth on the south coast to Godrevy on the north coast.

“We chose Looe to Land’s End mainly because we both like Cornwall and last year got engaged in Portscatho, part of the way along the route, where Lou’s family use to own a house. We thought it was appropriate to start in Looe for the double meaning i.e. we’re hoping to get Lou (and I) to Land’s End! The route is possibly the most picturesque coastal route in Britain and it’s a place where we’d have loved to have taken Joe.

“Focusing on fundraising has helped with our grief to a degree. Walking has proved a good way of processing our thoughts while we grieve and taking us out of the house. It lifts our spirits and that we can walk in the name of Joe gives us some small comfort.

“Our boy Joe inspired a lot of love in us and we want to direct that into positive action, to hopefully help other parents going through a similar experience. It helps us to mark his existence and to keep his memory alive.”

The couple have already raised £2,445 for Tommy’s and would like to reach £3,000 by the time they have completed the walk.

“We’re fundraising for Tommy’s on this occasion, but there are other very worthy charities in this field that we will support next time including: SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity), BLISS and COTS FOR TOTS (the charity that enabled us to live adjacent to where Joe was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol). We expect to have annual fundraising events around the time of Joe’s birthday in order to raise money for these various charities. As I’m a musician, the next event is likely to be a gig in Frome towards the end of the year – watch this space.”

The couple will set off on the 10th June and welcome anyone who would like to donate or fundraise for the charity to join them.

You can donate and find out details about Walk for Joe by visiting https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/walkforjoe. You can also follow  Rob and Lou’s blog at https://robspalders.wixsite.com/mysite