Burnham postman raises over 55k for charity on epic walk

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Brave Royal Mail postman Mark Penfold completed the final mile of his marathon 500 mile walk from Edinburgh to London as he entered the Guildhall Yard in the City of London on Saturday 18 June 2016.

To date, Mark has raised £50,000 including matched funding from Royal Mail for charity the Lily Foundation, in honour of his grandson Frankie and others suffering from mitochondrial disease.

The Burnham-on-Sea postman was cheered over the finishing line by a crowd of fellow postmen and women, their families and friends, representatives of the Lily Foundation and many other well-wishers.

Mark, aged 50, started his epic walk in Edinburgh on 27 May 2016, supported by Royal Mail, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and friends of the Lily Foundation. He was accompanied by a Royal Mail van carrying his supplies.

On arriving at the Guildhall, he was thanked by Royal Mail’s Chief Operations Officer Sue Whalley, who said: “On behalf of Royal Mail I want to congratulate Mark on this amazing achievement. Our postmen and women across the UK often go the extra mile for good causes, but Mark has gone an extra 500 miles on this impressive fundraising challenge, following one of the earliest postal routes. I’d also like to thank all the people who supported Mark along the route, including our colleagues, members of the CWU and all those connected to the Lily Foundation. This has truly been a first class effort. We are delighted to provide matched funding of £25,000, helping to significantly boost the funds Mark has raised on this walk.”

The Lily Foundation is a charity close to Mark’s heart. His grandson, 18-month-old Frankie, suffers from the life-limiting mitochondrial disease - a genetic condition that prevents cells in the body from producing enough energy for the body to survive. It can affect any part of the body, including the heart, brain, muscles, eyes, hearing, stomach or kidneys, and has no known cure.

The Lily Foundation funds research to improve diagnosis and increase treatment options for mitochondrial disease, and ultimately find a cure. The charity also raises much needed awareness of the condition and supports families affected by the disease.

Taking a well-earned rest, Mark Penfold said: “I feel privileged to follow in the footsteps of historic postal carriers and raise money for a cause that is so close to my heart. Thinking of my grandson Frankie spurred me on to the finish line and I know every penny I have raised, match-funded by Royal Mail, will be going to help other children like him. I can’t thank Royal Mail, my colleagues and the CWU enough for the first class help, support and organisation in setting up this challenge. I’d also like to thank everyone, including my fellow postmen and women as well as Lily Foundation supporters for cheering me along the way.”

CWU General Secretary, Dave Ward, said: "Mark took on this challenge for a fantastic cause and I am sure colleagues across the UK will join me in congratulating him on his remarkable achievement."

Liz Curtis, Founder and CEO of the Lily Foundation, added: “Mark certainly set himself a huge challenge with this epic walk. We are delighted he has completed his journey in aid of the Lily Foundation. We were there to see him off and to welcome him across the finish line. We would like to thank Royal Mail and the CWU for all their support with this walk. Great job Mark!”

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About the Lily Foundation

The Lily Foundation was founded in memory of Lily, the daughter of Founder and CEO Liz Curtis, who lost her battle to mitochondrial disease at just eight months old in 2007. The charity aims to give hope, answers and support to the many other children and families that face the challenges of this disease today.

What is Mitochondrial Disease?

When a person has mitochondrial disease the mitochondria in the cells are not producing enough energy for the cell. Sometimes they do not work at all, and sometimes they are just not very efficient. If a cell does not get enough energy (ATP) it cannot function properly. There is a huge variety in the symptoms and severity of mitochondrial disease. It depends on how many cells are affected, and where they are in the body. Every person with mitochondrial disease is affected differently. Each individual affected will have a different combination of mitochondria that are working and not working within each cell.
Unfortunately there is no cure for mitochondrial disease at present. The Lily Foundation is currently supporting research initiatives at a number of hospitals across the country. By funding this work, it hopes to enable doctors to get a better understanding of how mitochondria function. This will help identify new disease-causing genes and improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis, and hopefully leading to the development of effective treatment options, techniques to prevent transmission and ultimately to finding a cure.

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Postman Mark Penfold completed his epic 500-mile walk to cheers from family, friends and supporters in central London on Saturday.

Mark, who crossed the finishing line at Guildhall Yard with his grandson Frankie, has trekked all the way from Edinburgh over the past couple of weeks to raise awareness of the little-known, life-limiting condition afflicting the 20-month-old boy.

Just before his first birthday, Frankie was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, which is a genetic condition preventing cells in the body from producing enough energy for survival. The disease can affect any part of the body and has no known cure.

As well as raising awareness of the disease, Mark’s nationwide walk has been raising money for the Lily Foundation – set up by Liz Curtis in memory of her daughter who died from the condition in 2007 – which supports medical research aimed at improving diagnosis, increasing treatment options and, ultimately, finding a cure for the disease, as well as supporting families affected by the condition.

Liz was one of the many people who welcomed Mark into Guildhall Yard and she made an emotional speech as a giant cheque was handed to the foundation by Royal Mail chief operations officer Sue Whalley and CWU general secretary Dave Ward.

Thanking Mark for the incredible achievement of his “epic walk”, she also thanked Royal Mail and the CWU for their support and described mitochondrial disease as “the most common disease you’ve never heard of.”

In response, Mark also thanked the company and the union for their support, as well as Carl Webb and Lenny Crook from CWUHA, and he vowed: “There’s going to be a cure one day – we’ve got to get awareness out there.”

Dave Ward said that he considered it “an honour and privilege” to have been able to help organise Mark’s walk, saying: “All credit to you and well done Mark – you’re a great guy” and Sue Whalley described Mark as “an amazing colleague” who “epitomises the commitment and hard work of all our postmen and postwomen every day.”

As well as welcoming Mark, people had also gathered in Guildhall Yard for a special Royal Mail commemoration of its 500 years of service, with the exhibition of various historical vehicles and other items from the company’s past.

Mark’s route from Edinburgh had been planned to follow the historic postal route between the capitals of Scotland and England and, in keeping with the day’s historical theme, a traditional four-horse Royal Mail carriage had met Mark, Frankie and his family earlier in the day near London Bridge to accompany them on his final mile.

Led by grooms Ceri, Alyss and Delyth, and driven by Daniel the coachman, the four-horse team literally stopped traffic as they pulled out of The George Inn and towards the bridge – while guardsman Martin Horler blew on his bugle to make sure Londoners made way for Her Majesty’s Royal Mail.

Former England cricket captain Phil Tufnell and actor Lucy Speed also joined Mark as the group crossed the Thames and into the City.

Phil praised our 500-mile walker, calling him “a champion” and explaining that he began supporting Lily Foundation “about three years ago, when, the daughter of a very close friend of mine died from the condition.

“I like to help whenever I can,” he added.

Frankie’s family were out in force, his mum and dad Hannah and Tom, and his grandparents Anna, and Ian and Helen all wearing their campaign T-shirts with pride as they strode along.

Both Tom and Hannah stressed that awareness raising was the most important aim for them, although the cash to fund research is vital too.

Being informed of Frankie’s diagnosis had been “heartbreaking” they recalled, saying that neither of them had previously been aware of the condition at all.

“We were having tests done and we knew something wasn’t right,” said Hannah, adding that it had been thought initially that the condition could be cerebral palsy, before the mitochondrial disease diagnosis was revealed to them just before Frankie’s first birthday.

“We want to raise awareness, fund research, we want them to find a cure and treatments that work,” said Tom, and Hannah added: “We want people to know about it. Raising money’s great, but getting awareness out there is more important.”

More information on mitochondrial disease:

When a person has mitochondrial disease the mitochondria in the cells are not producing enough energy for the cell. Sometimes they do not work at all, and sometimes they are just not very efficient. If a cell does not get enough energy (ATP) it cannot function properly.

There is a huge variety in the symptoms and severity of mitochondrial disease. It depends on how many cells are affected, and where they are in the body. Every person with mitochondrial disease is affected differently. Each individual affected will have a different combination of mitochondria that are working and not working within each cell.

Unfortunately there is no cure for mitochondrial disease at present. The Lily Foundation is currently supporting research initiatives at a number of hospitals across the country. By funding this work, it hopes to enable doctors to get a better understanding of how mitochondria function. This will help identify new disease-causing genes and improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis, and hopefully leading to the development of effective treatment options, techniques to prevent transmission and ultimately to finding a cure.

From the Lily Foundation: http://www.thelilyfoundation.org.uk/mit ... l-disease/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;