BUSINESS MEN TAKE ON RUNNING CHALLENGE TO RAISE MONEY FOR OSCAR

Lockdown almost ended a carefully laid plan by Swindon couple Karl and Charlotte Paul to raise £10,000 this year in memory of their son Oscar who passed away ten years ago.

The Swindon couple, who live in Rodbourne Cheney, planned to raise cash to donate to the Ronald McDonald House in Bristol which gave them support at the worst time in their lives when Oscar was born prematurely. 

Lockdown put the stop on their plans until now. Dad Karl is well known in Swindon’s business community as the founder of SEO & lead generation agency Smarter Media and Charlotte also works in the business. 

Karl said: “To my amazement one of my business buddies, Andy Rohrer, suggested that we run every day in July to raise funds – starting at 1km on July 1 and ramping it up each day to 31km at the end of the month. Then other business friends joined in and now we have six more people who have taken up our July charity challenge.” 

Those joining Karl and Andy to date are:

• Ashley Cain – founder of Moovahome
• Lee Flanagan – founder of Centraheat & CAL Solutions
• Marc Stephens – team leader at Honda 
• Graeme Leighfield – founder of GEL Studios
• Matt Johnson – IT manager in the energy industry 
• James Linley – railway manager for Crossrail

They will run to support Karl and Charlotte and move them closer to their £10,000 goal. Currently they’ve raised just over £4,100. 

Oscar was born at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon on June 7 2010 at just 25 weeks and two days’ gestation. At the time Karl and Charlotte were in their 20s. Oscar was so small he was transferred to St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol to be cared for in their specialist neo natal unit. During his life, Karl and Charlotte stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Bristol. This charity relies on donations to help families of critically ill children stay nearby free of charge. 

“Being able to stay at the house at such an awful time really helped us. Not having to travel up and down the M4 and being close to Oscar for those precious days meant everything to us and we want to offer that same opportunity to others,” Charlotte said. 

Since Oscar’s passing, the couple have already raised more than £30,000 in his memory both for the House and also enough to buy an incubator for the special care baby unit where Oscar spent his short life. Anyone who wants to support the Paul family  - or who wants to take on the July charity challenge - can do so by donating here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/oscars10for10