One of the highlights of the Isle of Man calendar, the Parish Walk, is almost here and, once again, leading corporate services provider SMP Partners is preparing to get involved.
The annual event follows an 85-mile course around the Island, visiting each of the 17 parishes. Thousands of dedicated walkers take on the challenge, each with personal goals of how far they can go and many determined to raise as much money as possible for charity.
Among their number when the walk starts at 8am on 20th June will be two teams of four from SMP Partners in the corporate team event. The line-up includes Managing Director Mark Denton, who has completed the Parish Walk route twice, and Andrew Corris, responsible for e-commerce business development, who has four finishes under his belt.
The teams will be raising sponsorship money for SMP Partners’ 2015 Charity of the Year Finley’s Tracks. They charity was established by the parents of Finley Hesketh, who was last year diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a life-limiting progressive neuromuscular disorder which results in muscle degeneration. Mum and Dad, Kirstie and Clive, of Onchan, set up the charity to raise awareness of DMD, assist others with the condition in the Island and fundraise for a special wheelchair Finley will eventually need.
Also returning to the Parish Walk for 2015 are the SMP Partners’ famous sausages! The SMP Partners’ feeding station is open to all walkers on the Orrisdale Road, Ballasalla and has become well-known among Parish Walk participants for its hot sausages and snacks. This year 15 volunteers from SMP Partners will be ready with 950 delicious sausages to feed the hungry walkers.
Mark said: ‘The Parish Walk is a very demanding event which needs a lot of training and determination. No matter how far you go, just taking part is an achievement. I’m really proud of the SMP Partners teams, who have been hard at work preparing, and to all our colleagues who have been supporting us and making donations to Finley’s Tracks.
‘I know everyone will be pushing themselves to go as far as they can and I’m fairly confident we’ll all make it to Ballasalla – no one wants to miss out on a famous SMP sausage!’
He added: ‘It is a challenging event but the feeling of camaraderie ensures it’s always great fun and the fact that we are raising money for such a great charity will help make the miles pass quickly.’
