Fayyaz tackles Paris Marathon for hospice

An avid St Catherine’s supporter has once again completed the gruelling Paris Marathon to raise funds for the hospice.

Fayyaz Ali has undertaken the mammoth run three times in four years for various charities, and has donated thousands of pounds to St Catherine’s from a range of fundraising efforts since his mother, Zubeda, was cared for in our inpatient unit in August 2013. He has also taken part in our Moonlight and Memories Walk and has helped tackle misconceptions in the Asian community surrounding hospice care.

He said: “I like to keep that connection with St Catherine’s Hospice after the fantastic care the charity offered my mum, it was just wonderful. She was in the hospice for a few weeks during Ramadan, and we were able to visit at all hours of the day and night, nothing was ever a problem, which meant a lot to us. I’ve done the Moonlight and Memories Walk every year since.”

Fayyaz, from Frenchwood, Preston, most recently completed the Paris Marathon in four hours and 40 minutes. He said: “The training was tough; it’s a big commitment to fit it around work, granddad duties and helping my local community, but on the day the buzz of the crowd and their enthusiasm as they cheer you on really takes you through it.”

Emily Bate, Community Engagement Assistant at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “We’re so grateful for Fayyaz’s amazing, continued support of our cause. He has raised a fantastic £1,560 from the challenge this year, and has donated an incredible £5,696 over the years which makes such a difference in our aims to help more local people experience quality of life, to the end of life.

“Not only does St Catherine’s offer specialist palliative and end-of-life care to people at the hospice and in their own homes; our dedicated support team is also on hand to support patients and their loved ones from diagnosis to bereavement, and we simply wouldn’t be here for our local community if it wasn’t for the on-going determination of our supporters like Fayyaz who help us generate vital funds each and every year.

“We’d like to say a very special ‘thank you’ to Fayyaz for going the extra mile for St Catherine’s once again.”

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