Liverpool youngster Callum Finch is embarking on a 1,000-mile virtual sponsored cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
The ten-year old from Toxteth has geared up to pedal the length of the UK – a total of 1084 – to help raise money for The National Deaf Children’s Society.
His dad Mark Finch is accompanying him on his rides.
Mark’s no stranger to challenges like this, having completed 12 marathons in 12 months and raising £7,500 for children diagnosed with autism two years ago.
Born partially deaf and having worn hearing aids from a young age, Callum was inspired to embark on this challenge in support of the National Deaf Children’s Society.
Speaking to MerseySportsLive, dad Mark said:
“He’s deaf in one ear but it wasn’t diagnosed until he was 5, he can hear if it’s quiet but if there’s a lot of noise going on he has difficulty.
“He’s been diagnosed with autism as well.”
Cycling locally around Sefton Park and along the Mersey promenade, Callum began his challenge on February 8, cycling a distance of 10 miles.
He expects to have completed the full distance by the end of summer.
His dad added: “I’m so proud of him for the reason he wants to do it, he said ‘I want to help kids who can’t hear like me so that they can hear better’.
“He’s doing well, he’s plugging along, he comes home from school and says ‘dad are we going today?’ ”
But it’s not the first time Callum’s saddled up to raise money for a worthy cause.
Last year, he completed a 55-mile virtual bike ride to raise money for a local food bank.
“This is the second one he’s done, in the last lockdown he’s just wanted to do something, which we did a virtual bike ride from here to Blackpool.
“So about three and half weeks ago he came home from school and he said dad ‘I want to do another charity bike ride’ ”.
Despite the challenge that Callum set for himself, Mark isn’t too sure if he’ll make this one his last:
“Obviously this is a long venture for him, there isn’t any future plans at the moment, but I’m sure with him going from 55 miles to 1084 miles, I think that will inspire him to do more and more in the future.”
Callum has currently raised £561 towards his initial target of £200 for The National Deaf Children’s Society. To donate to his JustGiving page, click the link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/callum-finch2
(Photo courtesy of: Mark Finch)
