A veritable power house when it comes to raising money.
Dave, a tree surgeon who lives with his wife Alison and his beloved dogs in the depths of the West Devon countryside near Lydford, has a huge heart and a deep desire to help and support others.
His passion for fundraising started nearly 30 years ago, when he and Alison did a sponsored cycle ride from Launceston to Land’s End.
Dave, 60, said: ‘It was so appallingly organised we actually found it very distressing. There was no support, we were the last ones in at the end of each stage and we felt so humiliated. I was talking about it in the evening to Alison and she said ‘Why don’t you organise one, see what you can do?”
‘So in 1990 I organised a cycle ride from Land’s End to Tavistock Hospital, which was where Alison was working as a casualty nurse. It went extremely well, we raised £3,800 for a heart monitor for the hospital. That first event gave me the confidence and the desire to do another one. Just helping people, that’s what drove me, seeing people react to what you achieve. It’s not just about money and sponsorship, it’s about the human side.’
Various sponsored rides followed, raising precious funds for Oxfam, Age Concern and smaller organisations such as the local rugby club. Dave became well known in Okehampton for organising the Sport Relief ‘run a mile’ event for several years, attracting thousands of people and raising ‘quite a few bob’ for the popular Comic Relief charity.
Life changed for Dave when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. A tumour on his left larynx was discovered and he went through six and a half weeks of daily doses of radiotherapy. He was finally ‘signed off’ with the all clear three years later.
‘I never ever think it may return,’ said Dave. ‘That doesn’t enter my vocabulary. You never know how you are going to react when you are told you have a cancer, but being very positive and having a sense of humour definitely helps, having good friends and family too, but ultimately you have to help yourself and listen to what the experts tell you in hospital. I am very, very grateful to the doctors and nurses and that’s why I wanted to say thank you.’
Dave said he was ‘absolutely amazed’ when he was told the oncology department at Derriford had no support group despite the fact a staggering 16,500 people go through the radiotherapy unit annually.
The first Leafy Lanes walk in aid of the oncology department was held in 2009 and has since become a popular event attracting hundreds of people. It is held annually in May through quiet countryside lanes, tracks and moors around Lydford and Bridestowe. Dave said: ‘In May the hedges are that brilliant green, the cuckoos are on the moor, it’s a fantastic start to the summer. I always say that gates aren’t there for keeping stock in, they are there to lean on, take in the view and have a yarn.’
In 2011 Dave met Laura Washer, a cancer sufferer who was to have a profound effect on him. ‘She’d seen my posters for the Leafy Lanes Walk. She was too poorly to take part, but we bumbled around in my truck and talked about starting a fundraising support group, and that’s how POOCH (Plymouth Oncology and Outpatients Chemotherapy) started. Since 2012 we have raised in the region of £120,000.
‘Laura died in 2013 from her cancer. She was quite an incredible woman, someone I knew all too briefly, but I knew I’d met someone special that first day. It’s her voice in my head that keeps me going with my fundraising. I only need to go into the oncology department to realise why I keep doing what I do. I must admit it sometimes gets a bit overwhelming and you have to take a step back, but then a week goes by and I start to feel guilty that I haven’t done enough.
‘I take my hat off to people who care for terminally ill adults and children, who have that ability and character to make their last days just a little bit better. The support for charities in this country is tremendous but there’s always more to do. I wish we could have an Aged in Need like we have Children in Need. There’s room for everyone to raise money — we always say a dripping tap will always fill a bucket, you don’t have to go mad in one go.’
Dave, an outdoors man and nature lover through and through, paid tribute to everyone who had supported his fundraising ventures. ‘I am extremely grateful to all those people who support all the events I have been involved in, particularly the volunteers and marshals, family and friends who don’t get dragged in, they just ring up and ask “When’s the next one?”.’