A Biddulph man is taking on a raft of tough challenges in the coming months and years as part of his work in raising funds for a cerebral palsy charity.

Biddulph's Dominic Ryles is part of a team committed to raising money for Paces, a charity that supports people living with cerebral palsy and other motor disorders.

He's already taken on the national three peaks challenge, climbing the three highest mountains in the UK - Ben Nevis in Scotland, Snowdon in Wales, and Scafell Pike in England, all in under 24 hours.

Now Dominic and the Paces team are targeting a range of other fundraising feats in an effort to raise money - all culminating in reaching Everest base camp in 2023.

Read all about Dominic's fundraising so far and his plans for the future in our interview below...

How long have you been with Paces and why did you decide to join?

"My work with Paces charity started earlier this year when I was invited to join one of my work partners, Newfox IT on a charity challenge. The National Three Peaks had always been a bucket list of mine but little did I know that I would get the opportunity to fulfil it in 2021.

"I didn't know much about the charity before taking on the challenge so I was invited to meet the team and witness first hand the incredible work they do: helping children, adults and families living with Cerebral Palsy and motor disorders. It was at this point that everything clicked. Meeting the team, the charity, and some of the young people who have had their lives enhanced because of the incredible work the charity does.

"We had originally set out fundraising target at £1,500 but we quickly achieved that with the support of our families and networks. We raised the bar further to £2,500 before achieving a total of £5,000 as we came across the finish line to complete the National Three Peaks in 23hrs and 37mins, under the allocated 24hr period.

"Following the success of my first charity challenge with Paces, I then felt empowered to work with the charity further to support and help raise further funds so that they can continue to change lives."

Could you give an overview of some of the events you've got coming up and why you chose to do them?

"We've got quite a lot of fundraising ideas and events floating around at the moment. Some we have already pencilled into the diary and others we're still finalising. But, what we have planned so far includes;

- September 2021 - Sheffield 10k

- April 2022 - Tough Mudder

- May 2022 - Yorkshire Three Peaks

- June 2022 - Charity Football Match

- July 2022 - Sunrise at Snowdon

- August 2022 - The Big School Run

- December 2022 - Christmas Charity Ball

"We're aiming for '12 in 12,' so each year on the lead up to Everest Basecamp in 2023, we will host and complete some form of fundraising activity or event each month to raise funds for Paces.

"We want to do a good mixture of events. Ones which push us out of our comfort zone and others which are more fun and will involve many people. Our charity football match and Christmas ball will be one for the whole family to attend, with planned food and drink stalls, DJ's, charity auctions, and much more.

"We will also be hosting some online auctions where people can win some great prizes through small donations to our JustGiving page. We have some great prizes lined up, so keep your eyes peeled on our social media pages for our first one launching this year.

"I would anticipate us to have a full diary from January 2022 - November 2023 completed by the end of this year. Anyone can visit our site to find out more about our upcoming events."

You mentioned that the charity helps children, adults and families living with cerebral palsy and motor disorders. What is it about this cause in particular that inspired you to take part in the fundraising?

"It sounds cliché, but it's the people and the incredible work which they do to help and support. I've had the pleasure of meeting with Dr Spencer Pitfield (OBE) who is the Chief Executive of the charity. He came to do the National Three Peaks challenge with us and I got to truly understand the impact which the charity makes, and it's astonishing!

"Since working with the charity, Ruth Wallbank, Community & Events Manager, Julie Booth, Head of Fundraising and Dave Hall, Corporate Partnership Manager have all been amazing to work with. They have helped and supported us getting the charity team off the ground, worked with us to compile our fundraising activities and will continue to be a pivotal driving force behind us achieving our overall target.

"It's this which has empowered and inspired us to 'do more' with the charity and we hope with the help of our existing networks and local press such as yourself, it will help to spread our charity fundraising initiatives even further, and onto achieving our target."

You said the fundraising will culminate in reaching Everest base camp in 2023. Are you excited for this amazing adventure and will you be doing any training to prepare?

"I get asked this a lot since launching the fundraising team and our initiatives, and it's difficult to put into words. Whilst I am extremely excited about taking on the Everest Basecamp challenge, it's nerve wrecking at the same time. It's like no other challenge that I nor the team have taken on before and it will be challenging to say the least, with changes in terrain and altitudes, and being away from our families for 18 days. But we're a close knit team and have a huge support network behind us.

"A lot of the fundraising activities we have planned like the Yorkshire and National Three Peaks will go some way to helping us train, but it's the high altitude training which will be a challenge. We will be incorporating a lot of aerobic conditioning and strength training into our routines, as well as long hikes (6-7 hours) and making sure our nutrition is on point too.

"It's where we go to from Everest Basecamp that excites me!"

Are you proud to be representing Biddulph in these fundraisers and what would you say to encourage the people of Biddulph to donate?

"Very much so. My partner and I have only just recently moved to Biddulph in January this year, so we're still settling in and finding our feet.

"I'll be looking to approach local businesses over the coming weeks and months for sponsorship opportunities as well as hosting donation bins for people to donate anything they can to help us achieve our target.

"Whilst Paces don't have a base in my hometown, I'm sure the people of Biddulph have in some way, whether that be directly or indirectly through friends, been affected by Cerebral Palsy and motor disorders, and would urge them - if financially possible - to donate and help support us in raising funds to achieve our target.

"If any local businesses would like to support us then I would ask they contact us via [email protected]"

Is there anything else you would like to add?

"Our aim before Christmas is to raise our profile even further by contacting more local and National press. We're also starting to work with other organisations throughout the UK through our corporate sponsorship packages which are a monetary donation and in return, we will be offering publicity and marketing through t-shirt and banner advertising, which will be taken with us during all fundraising activities starting in 2022, as well as regular exposure on our website and social channels.

"If anyone reading the article is interested then they can click here for more information."

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