A Green Hammerton man diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) is set to take on a new fundraising challenge as he refuses to let the illness defeat him.
Ian Flatt was diagnosed with the disease in 2019 but, inspired by rugby hero Rob Burrow, has agreed set to take on seven peaks across the UK in three weeks.
He’ll be raising money for the Leeds Hospitals Charity Rob Burrow Centre for MND Appeal.
Ian will be backed every step of the way by his godson, 15-year-old Ashville College pupil Sebastian Gaspar-Dunn, who has dedicated his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to promoting the challenge online.
His godfather will tackle Whernside and Wild Boar Fell in Yorkshire, Mount Snowdon and Pen-y-Fan in Wales, Ben Chonzie in Scotland, and Skiddaw in the Lake District before returning to Yorkshire to take on Roseberry Topping, known locally as the Yorkshire Matterhorn.
Money raised will go towards the £6.8m Rob Burrow Centre for MND backed by Leeds Hospitals Charity.
Sebastian said:
“We have already been using videos on Instagram and TikTok to show the preparation as well as reaching out to walking groups and outdoor organisations to see if they’d like to be involved in the challenge, help to promote it or even join Ian for sections along the way.
“Yet anyone can help just by sharing what we post. By spreading the word maybe we can generate more support both from the Ashville school community and Harrogate as a whole.”
Ian’s Instagram account is @flatty 65 and on TikTok at @whatsyourmountain.
There is also a Give as you Live fundraising page, which can be found at: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/whats-your-mountain-7-mountains
The dates for the 7 Mountains, 3 Countries,1 Goal challenge are:
- Saturday, June 15: Whernside
- Tuesday, June 18: Wild Boar Fell
- Friday, June 21 (Global MND Awareness Day): Mount Snowdon
- Tuesday, June 25: Pen-y-Fan
- Saturday, June 29: Ben Chonzie
- Wednesday, July 3: Skiddaw
- Sunday, July 7 (Rob Burrow Day): The Yorkshire Matterhorn
Ashville College Head, Mrs Rhiannon Wilkinson, said:
“We greatly admire Seb’s selfless dedication to supporting his godfather. We are delighted he is joining Ian on a number of walks and supporting his fundraising initiative.
“We’ll certainly be doing whatever we can to encourage the school to get behind him and very much hope we can help spread the word to the wider Harrogate and Yorkshire communities too.”
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