Mission Firefly: Doncaster athlete to tackle series of gruelling for £25,000 campaign

We have teamed up with Doncaster charity Firefly, which provides free transport to cancer patients to hospitals across the region, to raise the whopping sum to help fund a new vehicle.

And all over Doncaster, people are responding to the fundraising challenge, doing their bit to help us towards that huge cash total.

And among them is superfit Doncaster athlete Danny Laverick who will be putting his body to the limit with an exhausting programme of challenges throughout the year, including marathons, long distance runs and lengthy cycle rides.

He has already kick-started his fundraising campaign, completing the Manchester Marathon in a time of 3 hours 29 minutes.

But that’s just the start for Danny.

Here’s the full list of challenges he’s taking on:

Manchester Marathon - 14 April

Ultra x Scotland 110KM - 4-5 May

Ironman Bolton 70.3 - June 30

300KM cycle in Doncaster - July

Rasslebock 24 hour run - August 4

UTMB 55KM in the French Alps - 26 August

Why We Run 250KM Pembrokeshire – 23-28 September

Trans Pennine Trail - 337KM – 19 October

Said Danny: “A lot of people in my family have been directly affected by cancer and Firefly have always been there.

“Firefly offer valuable support to cancer patients and family members and family friends have used their services so it is a charity close to us all, so I feel it is right to give back to them.

“Along the way I will also be raising awareness for malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer which sadly took my stepdad’s life recently at age 53.

"I feel it is necessary to raise awareness and do this in honour and memory of him.”

He added: “There will be opportunities to join me on training runs, parts of the bike ride and the final run across the Trans Pennine Trail if people would like to get involved.”

You can also keep updated on socials:

Personal Facebook - Danny Laverick

Charity Facebook Page - Dannys Firefly Fundraiser

Instagram - DannyLaverick.1

You can also donate at his fundraising page HERE

Money has already started coming in for our ambitious appeal to raise £25,000 to buy a new vehicle for the city’s cancer support charity Firefly Cancer Awareness and Support.

Your Doncaster Free Press is counting on you, our readers, to dig deep and support the organisation which provides vital transport for cancer patients across Doncaster and beyond with our Mission Firefly campaign.

Founded in 2006 by the late Denise Dunn following her own cancer battle, the Firefly Express provides FREE transport to local cancer patients and their families across the city to regional treatment centres using a team of volunteer drivers.

But delivering such a vital service doesn’t come cheap – and that’ why we are calling on you, our readers, to back our fantastic fundraising campaign.

And we want you to tell us all about what you are doing to raise funds too!

We want to raise a whopping £25,000 so Firefly can purchase a new, second hand vehicle to add or a replace a vehicle in its fleet and keep its much-needed and essential service running.

Drivers work hard – and the vehicles work even harder, clocking up thousands of miles each year, zipping patients and their families across the region for treatment.

The project, now in the hands of Denise’s partner Ian Bacchus and friend Paul Taylor following her death in 2014, is determined to keep its fleet of vehicles running – and our campaign aims to boost their service even more.

Ian, known as Chewy, said: “The Firefly Express vehicles provide free transport to local cancer patients and their families in the borough of Doncaster to regional treatment hospitals, using our fantastic team of volunteer drivers.

"We currently have a fleet of 12 vehicles to cope with the ever-increasing requirements.

"Firefly help local people in their time of need, making a difficult time a little easier.

“Firefly is about life – living it to the full, and enjoying every second of it.

"We want to remove the stigma and embarrassment of personal cancer problems in young men and women, giving them the confidence to communicate with friends, family and health professionals should the occasion arise.”

He added: “Using our personal experiences, we are determined to change the journey for cancer patients while raising awareness, particularly amongst young people, to spot the signs before it advances.”

We want to raise enough cash so Firefly can purchase a new or replacement seven seat vehicle to keep the trips up and running, with the vehicle fleet doing as much as 6,000 miles a week.

A huge team of 70 volunteer drivers can carry as many as 80 patients a day – and a dedicated maintenance team make sure the vehicles are kept in tip top shape. Trips from Doncaster head to treatment centres in Sheffield such as Weston Park, The Royal Hallamshire and Northern General – with drivers whisking patients from their doors straight to the hospital, before returning them home afterwards.

For more information about Firefly and all the great work they do, visit https://www.firefly-support.co.uk/

All you have to do is scan in the QR code in this story to make your donation and get the ball rolling on our campaign to buy a new vehicle for Firefly.

So get scanning, get donating and do your bit to help support our campaign and a fantastic Doncaster charity.

And if you are organising a fundraising event, please contact our campaign reporter Darren Burke via [email protected] and we’ll give you a shout out to your fundraising efforts.