Jogging (and juggling) for Joseph

Posted on: 17th June 2020

British Liver Trust supporter, Liam, has raised over £4,000 for the charity. In this blog he explains why the cause is so close to his heart and how he found new ways to fundraise during 'lockdown'.

"My cousin Joseph passed away in 2003 aged 24 from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.

"Initially my running started as a way of keeping fit and losing weight with the aim of running the Great North Run. Being from the North East, this was a lifetime ambition and was even more special on the day in 2007 as I ran it alongside my brother, Brendan.

"Ten years later, I returned to complete the GNR again, this time with my sister, Siobhan, which again, made it very special. In April 2018, I ran the London Marathon for the BLT.

"During training for these events I set up a tribute page in Joseph’s name (https://josepholiver.muchloved.com/) which so far stands at over £4,100 of our £5k target.

"When training for challenges like a marathon it is a way of getting through the hard miles when you remember why you are doing it. The emotion of completing the London Marathon in 2018 and then reuniting with my family, including Joseph’s mum, Elaine, in Horseguard's Parade is something that can't quite be put into words if I am honest.

"We have undertaken lots of different fundraising including quiz nights, advent calendar running challenges, treadmill training runs in shops and an annual charity football match.

"We always use the social media hashtag #JoggingForJoseph and have recently adapted this due to covid-19. Our charity football match this year was due to take place on 30th May and so we have tried to innovate with an online #JugglingForJoseph keepy-uppy challenge. More information can be seen at https://twitter.com/liamdnufc.

"The memorial page allows us to keep track of the work we have undertaken to remember Joseph and also means we can easily make a quick donation at important milestone times like birthdays and Christmas.

"When we meet our £5k target, we will change it again and look for the next challenge and milestone! Our family has found fundraising a good way to remember Joseph, support the British Liver Trust after they supported him and his mum, and keep his memory at the forefront of our memories, and it allows those people that knew him to follow our progress on social media."