BANKER Nigel Crutchley, who has pledged to raise £1m for children and young people with cancer and their families, has already collected nearly £140,000 in memory of his son Ben.
Nigel and his family, who live at Newbury near Frome, are being supported by CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading children and young people’s cancer charity. Ben, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2011, died last year aged nine.
Nigel has taken part in a wide variety of fundraising events this year, including a cycle ride from Paris to London with colleagues from RBS, the Midsomer Norton triathlon, the Bristol half marathon, a 20K walk, and most recently the Royal Parks half marathon in London.
Nigel said, “Every day 10 families are told that their child has cancer. I am committed to raising money for CLIC Sargent, which does such a fantastic job of supporting families like ours.”
Nigel also took part in a sky dive from 15,000 feet at Old Sarum airfield near Salisbury on Sunday 29th September. It was his first sky dive.
Nigel, who is the director of supply chain services for the Royal Bank of Scotland said, “It was frightening, but the instructor was very good. We had 70 seconds of free-fall and then the parachute opened, and we landed safely.”
Next year, so far, Nigel has a place in the London Marathon and the Bath half, and he intends to take part in an Olympic triathlon.
Nigel has also written a leadership presentation about coping through difficult times which he will deliver to businesses and other organisations. He is also planning to run a family day for a local school and to do leadership work for Scouts in the south west.
Liz North, CLIC Sargent’s director of communications and campaigning said, “Nigel is amazing – he has done a huge amount of fundraising and has also inspired others to take part. We would like to say a big thank you to him for all he is doing to help us to support children, young people and families who are coping with cancer.”
Above: A great leap – Nigel with his instructor during the sky dive at Old Sarum Airfield near Salisbury
