A gaggle of St Albans fundraisers have teamed up with residents of our city's twin town to raise money for Earthworks.
With their annual trip to Worms cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lewis Wynne and his team based in St Albans virtually put their heads together to think of other things they could do together, even though they were around 500 miles apart.
"We came up with this idea, that we'd do the equivalent distance between the two places," Lewis said.
It was from there that the idea of a charity fundraiser was born: eight St Albans natives and three Worms residents would walk, run and cycle the equivalent distance between the two towns and back.
Lewis said: "How it all started, me and my group of mates wanted to find something to do together, and six or seven years ago, we decided to go to Worms in Germany, because it's our twin town and something a bit different.
"We developed quite a close friendship with some of the guys out there, so we ended up going to one of the guy's weddings out there, and they came here."
The original challenge set would see the 11 participants journey the 926 miles over February and March, but the team are now aiming to walk, run and cycle as far as they can before their deadline at the end of next month.
At the time of publication, the fundraisers are only 57 miles away from completing their allotted 926 miles.
Originally setting out to raise £1,000 to buy Earthworks a new printer, they have already raised almost £1,500, and have now set their sights on raising £2,500 for the St Albans-based horticultural and nature-based charity for people with learning disabilities.
Participant James Edwards said of the challenge so far: "It has been great to be able to get out and about knowing every step is a step closer to our 926 mile target. Makes it even more worthwhile when you're raising money for such a great charity."
Andrew Levey added: "We first visited our twin town of Worms in 2014. Despite not knowing anyone we were warmly welcomed and forged friendships that are still going strong today. Can't wait to get back to Germany once the situation has improved!"
"After the guys from St Albans [came] to Germany some years ago everybody desperately wanted to go to St Albans. But no one could have imagined what great friendships have evolved. And so there is no moment to hesitate and help a good friend with this charity project!" added Markus and Uta Weller and Sven Jorissen, who live in Worms.
Team member Rhys Wynne is also running the London Marathon for Earthworks later this year.
To donate to Earthworks, visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LewisTomos. To follow the team's challenge, click here.
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