Moonwalkers burn midnight oil to raise money for charity

The five walkers, who work for Acis, provider of affordable housing across Lincolnshire, joined 15,000 others late on a Saturday night in London.

Almost eight hours and 26 miles later, they crossed the finishing line, having generated valuable funds for the Walk The Walk initiative, which supports those with breast cancer, as well as research into the disease.

Penny Shaw, Debbie Clubley, Maria Jones, Sandra Toyne and Tracy O’Neil were the Acis five who gave up their Saturday night out for such a worthy cause. They are all part of the walking group, Walk This Way, which was formed last year after the successful completion of a Three Peaks Challenge. The group consists of Acis staff and Lincolnshire police officers, plus their family and friends.

Penny, who is the safer communities officer at the Bridge Street base of Acis, said: “So far, the Walk This Way team has raised £2,566. But this is without adding cash from our sponsorship forms, so we expect to surpass £3,000, smashing our original target of £1,000. We would welcome any more sponsorship for this amazing cause.”

The London Moonwalk, founded by Prince Charles, is now in its 19th year and is regarded as one of the capital’s most iconic challenges. After gathering at the start line on Clapham Common, the Acis team listened to inspirational messages from breast cancer survivors before setting off at 10.30 pm and taking in many of London’s famous landmarks en route. They finished together at about 6.20 am.

“There will be lots more walks in the future,” added Penny. “We start planning the Three Peaks Challenge again in September and there has been mention of the moonwalks in Edinburgh, Iceland or even Peru in future years.”