Manx Cancer Help is excited to announce that it is bringing back the Lisa Lowe Appeal Walk for 2015, which will take place on Sunday 27th September, the first time that it will have taken place since 2007.

The charity hopes to get as many people as possible involved in the walk, sponsored by Barclays, which will see participants take on the famous Millennium Way and walk 28 miles from Sky Hill to Castletown. For those aged 18 and under, and anyone who would prefer a shorter walk, there is the option of joining the event at The Crosby Hotel at 1pm for a 10-mile walk.

Both walks will end at Castle Rushen, where finishers will receive a medal. There will also be awards for categories such as Fastest Man, Fastest Woman, Youngest Walker, Oldest Walker and Best Fancy Dress.

The Lisa Lowe Appeal Walk first took place in 1997, the year that Lisa lost her life to cancer, and raised ?70,000 for Manx Cancer Help. Lisa was diagnosed aged just 38 and after a major operation and initially making a good recovery, Lisa’s cancer returned and sadly she died in November 1997.

Despite her illness, Lisa organised and was the public face of many events, which raised over ?80,000 for Manx Cancer Help. This enabled the charity’s founder, Eve Berridge, to take the lease out on the charity’s first dedicated premises in Cronkbourne – named The Lisa Lowe Centre – so Lisa was hugely instrumental in laying the foundations of the service provided today

Andrea Chambers, Executive Officer at Manx Cancer Help, said: 'As a charity, we are entirely self-funded and rely on the generous donations of individuals and fundraising events to cover the costs of our service, for which we are experiencing growing demand. While we are delighted to be in a position to provide such a brilliant service to so many people, the fact remains that we need to secure funds to ensure that we can continue our important work beyond 2015.

‘Around 900 people took part in the first Lisa Lowe Appeal Walk and we really hope that we can attract as many – if not more – people this time around to raise much-needed funds for Manx Cancer Help. We are asking entrants to give a ?20 entry fee, which will cover the cost of their registration and a T-shirt that they can wear on the day, and to collect as much or more in sponsorship. There will be Fundraising Champion and Junior Fundraising Champion awards for those who raise the most money, so we encourage everyone to be creative in their fundraising efforts ahead of the big day!

‘We would like to say a big thank you to Barclays, which is very kindly sponsoring the appeal for 2015, and to Lisa’s family for supporting the event. It promises to be a really fun day out for everyone involved, and we are very excited to see new and familiar faces taking part.’

Simon Scott, Managing Director at Barclays Private Clients International Limited in the Isle of Man, added: ‘Lisa was a much-loved friend and colleague within Barclays so we are delighted to support this event and help to keep her legacy alive. Manx Cancer Help is a brilliant charity that really meant a lot to Lisa, and we hope that as many people as possible will get involved with this event to help raise valuable funds to ensure that the charity is here for as long as possible to support people affected by cancer.’

You can sign up for the Lisa Lowe Appeal Walk 2015 at www.manxcancerhelp.org/lisa – registration closes 14th September 2015, so please do get your entries in as soon as possible to avoid missing out. For more information, please get in touch with Ally Martin, Fundraising Events Co-Ordinator at Manx Cancer Help, at ally@manxcancerhelp.org or call 679544.

Photo - left to right - Ian Pilley and Fran Ciappelli from Barclays, Senior Officer Mike Pacey from Isle of Man Prison, Ally Martin and Andrea Chambers from Manx Cancer Help.