Welsh soldiers take their annual St David’s Day celebrations to the next level by walking, running and cycling over nine-thousand miles to raise money for seriously ill children.
The challenge will see members of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards in Cardiff and The Long Range Reconnaissance Group in Mali walk, run and cycle a total of 9,387 miles charting the distance from Cardiff to Mali. Around 1,000 soldiers will participate in this never-done-before challenge, being split into three groups to complete 3,129 miles each.
“As a regiment, we celebrate St David’s Day every year, but this year we have been deployed to Mali with a variety of soldiers from different units. 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards are the lead unit therefore it felt only right that we celebrated the day together” spoke Dai Chant, the fundraising lead who is currently deployed in Mali. As they could not celebrate as usual on St David’s Day, the group chose to combine celebrations with St Patrick’s Day as around 100 of their Task Force members are from the Royal Irish regiment. “The day is important to us as we are the Welsh Cavalry and recruit directly from Wales and the Border Counties”, said Dai Chant.
The soldiers aim to “capitalise on the day whilst incubating an inclusive culture which sees everybody getting involved and completing their fair share”, with other activities throughout the day including baking Welsh cakes, eating a raw leek, and completing a chariot race.
The Long Range Reconnaissance Group operates at reach for up to four-weeks, moving into areas that others cannot. Day-to-day, the soldiers maintain both the vehicles and themselves to be ready whenever they need to be. Once this is sorted, the time left over is spent on administration. The soldiers deployed in Mali will be enduring the challenge in 40-degree heat, adding even more difficulty to the mission.
This year, they hope to raise £10,000 for the Dreams & Wishes charity, granting special dreams and wishes to seriously ill children who need them most. “Whatever we raise, all soldiers and significant others will be contributing towards bringing the wider QDG and Task Group family closer together. The soldiers have been deployed for three months, and “anything we can do to keep connected to loved ones is important”.
When asked why they chose South-Wales based Dreams & Wishes, Dai Chant said, “As a regiment, we believe the work they complete is next level and unrivalled. They support families in their time of need and in our opinion do everything they can to make the dreams and wishes of seriously Ill children come true. We have made them our chosen charity and after supporting them previously, we frequently look to support whenever we are able, not just with charitable donations, but also by supplying soldiers as and when they are required”.
After raising around £7,000 last year, the soldiers are hoping to reach £10,000 to support Dreams & Wishes this year. If you’d like to support the soldiers and help raise money for seriously ill children, you can donate on their JustGiving page:
David Chant is fundraising for Dreams and Wishes (justgiving.com)
