Aylesbury man determined to reach fundraising goal despite shielding
Martin Hywood is hoping to reach a £30,000 fundraising target for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
A special comedy fundraising had been scheduled at the Waterside in Aylesbury in April.
Martin Hywood, from Aylesbury, has released a new video to raise awareness and hopefully some vital funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Due to his condition Martin has been shielding for the majority of the year, and in the time has lost the ability to walk.
However, he says fundraising is about helping people in the future:
"My self, my wife and our girls decided to start fundraising, and it was always to help other families.
"I have gone through a lot of physical change this year because of shielding and we would never want any other families to go through this.
"This is why it is so important that we fund the research and pay for things like the advocacy service."
The fundraising page (at teh time of writing) stand at £27,606 thanks to supporters who have taken on challenges like virtual marathons and climbing mountains on their home stairs.
A charity event had been organised for earlier in the year, with appearances from comedians like Jon Richardson planned.
However, this had to be cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions.
Since then the need for funds has only grown, with Martin explained there is expected to be a 2.8 million fundraising gap for Muscular Distrophy UK.
As an ambassador and recipient from their work he feels its important to raise awareness and hopefully bring about change for future generations with this condition.
The target is £30,000, which is 667 hours of world class research into these conditions, so scientists can still be paid to find treatments and cures.