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Balfron Trio Go to Great Lengths for CHAS

Dedicated swimmers take on eight week 'Loch Lomond' challenge in local pool.

Three Balfron residents have embarked on an eight week swimming fundraiser in aid of CHAS.

Iain Mitchell, Jonathan Bowie and Jenny McNeely are each swimming the length of Loch Lomond at their local pool on Balfron Community Campus. That's 1,455 lengths per swimmer, equalling a staggering 22.6 miles each. They have chosen Loch Lomond as it is the home of CHAS hospice, Robin House. The challenge began on 5th of February with the last length expected on the 5th of April.

Iain, a University of Strathclyde employee, said: "I have some contact with CHAS through my work and have been lucky enough to visit the Robin House hospice twice. It made a real impression on me and I was stunned at the dedication CHAS shows to supporting children and their families through the most difficult of times.

"There is obviously great sadness, and maybe you feel it even more as a parent, but at the same time there is something incredibly life-affirming and joyous about the place. I feel that the inspirational work of CHAS really does bring out the best in everybody. I think they are a wonderful charity and I was looking for a way to help support them further."

"I do normally try to go swimming to keep fit but I can fall out of the habit and it's quite easy to lack the motivation. What better possible motivation can there be than this? We're very fortunate in Balfron to have such great sport facilities at our community campus and we're very grateful to them for supporting us on our big swimming adventure.

"We hope to get as many people and businesses from around the Loch Lomond area involved and, as well as raising funds and awareness for CHAS, turn our swim into a celebration of the loch and the beautiful area that we live in."

Jonathan Clegg, Community Fundraiser at CHAS, said: "We are incredibly grateful to Iain, Jenny and Jonathan for their efforts and thank them for going to this length - boom tish! It is heartening to see the local community get behind them so quickly to raise an extraordinary sum. This is yet more proof that fundraising for a good cause and self-improvement can often go hand-in-hand."

The trio have already made a considerable dent on their fundraising target, having cracked £1,000. Anyone wishing to support their challenge can do so via their JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/loch-lomond-lengths. Those wishing to track their progress can find them on Facebook at Loch Lomond Lengths.

In Scotland, more than 15,000 children and young people live with life-shortening conditions and CHAS is determined to reach every family who needs its services. CHAS works across Scotland, able to provide its hospice services nation-wide for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions., CHAS offers palliative, respite and end-of-life care from Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch.

CHAS at Home supports families with the services of a hospice yet in their own homes across the whole of Scotland. Through its Diana Children's Nurses working in hospitals across the country we support families and clinical teams.

If you want to talk to someone about your own situation or find out more about our services, please get in touch: