THE CHALLENGE

I am taking part in the "BigSplash" to raise money for two local charities, and one national charity.

1. St James Bells : £130,000 Project to restore the bells at St James the Great, Hindpool, Barrow-in-Furness
   Approx £30,000 still needs to be raised, but we are very hopeful of a substantial 5-figure grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund...
   so we may have less than £10,000 to raise To rescue the only ring of 8 bells in Barrow-in-Furness and give them a fresh new lease of life (at 135 years of age!).
   So we can all hear them rung together for a variety of occasions; and to draw people together from the community to become part of the team of bellringers.
   For more information please visit St James Bell Restoration Appeal - (see Bells of St James the Great, Barrow-in-Furness website)
2. 17th Barrow (St Perran's) Scout Group : Raising funds to replace the old minibus (approx £6,000 to £10,000) which is becoming less reliable and more costly to maintain and run.
   This will allow boys and girls in the 17th Barrow Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts to continue to go on camps and other exciting activities away from the scout hut.
3. Marie Curie Cancer Care : I entered the individual challenge to swim 5km of the 135 miles (see below) as part of this year's SWIMATHON, with a target to raise £100 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

To raise funds for these projects, I am attempting to swim 135 miles in time for the 135th anniversary of the bells on St James day (25th July 2012).
This distance coincides with the length of the river Wye, and so I have taken on the 'Big Splash' SwimFit challenge to swim the length of the river Wye (but in the comfort of my local 25m swimming pool!)

To make a donation please see section How to Donate below. Thank you.

DONATIONS - MONEY RAISED SO FAR

Latest update to totals raised or pledged for sponsored swim to date:

BELL RESTORATION APPEAL Donation Type Value Total Offline (cash/cheques) Received: £557.80 £708.93 Pledged: £0.00 Gift Aid Due: £131.13 Online (credit/debit card) Received: £169.00 £204.03 Card Transaction Fees: -£2.22 Gift Aid Due: £37.25 TOTAL £912.96		SCOUT MINIBUS APPEAL Donation Type Value Total Offline (cash/cheques) Received: £84.00 £99.63 Pledged: £0.00 Gift Aid Due: £15.63 Online (credit/debit card) Received: £138.00 £163.90 Card Transaction Fees: -£1.85 Gift Aid Due: £27.75 TOTAL £263.53
NOTE 1: Card Transaction Fees: online giving website MyDonate is a non-profit making enterprise, but the credit card companies levy an unavoidable credit/debit card transaction fee which has to be passed on. This translates to a cost of about 1.4% of donation amount. Example: A £5 credit/debit card donation will have 7p deducted for the card transaction fee, but would have £1.25 reclaimed from HMRC if you elct to gift-aid the donation, resulting in a 23.6% net bonus (£1.18) added to the donation.
NOTE 2: Gift Aid Due: Some donations are made without electing to gift aid the donation (e.g. if the donor is not eligible to gift-aid their donation), so this figure may be less than the maximum of 25% of the total donations.

Finally I would like to thank you for your interest in my sponsored swim, and for all the donations - large and small - that will help to make these projects a reality.

SWIM STATUS - COMPLETE!

Progress information (with most recent swim shown):

Details of all swims at end of web page.

To see my progress on a summary map or zoomable map (note: initial zoom at start point, not current position)

Swimathon Results - 5km Individual Challenge on 29 April 2012 - Stroke = Breaststroke

Swim Summary Stats Overall:

Swim Summary Stats by Month:

HOW TO DONATE

I would be very grateful for any support you can give me on my sponsored swim, especially by making a donation to either or both these projects.
Donations can be made securely online (using a credit or debit card), or printing and filling in a gift aid form (cheque or cash) and sending/dropping off at one of contacts at bottom of this page.

APPEAL ONLINE (click link or button) GIFT AID SPONSOR FORMS (to print) St James' Bell Restoration Appeal Online charity donation website - bells or Sponsored Swim Forms: Group or Individual St Perran's Scouts Minibus Appeal Online charity donation website - minibus or Sponsored Swim Forms: Group or Individual Combined Bells & Minibus Appeal Sponsored Swim Form: Group SWIMATHON - Marie Curie Cancer Care Swimathon Website no form available to print

Your gift can be topped up by a further 25% from HM Revenue & Customs if you elect to 'Gift Aid' the donation.

Full Catalogue of Swims