One of our youngest Action Fund Heroes, 12-year-old Sam Bell, has been raising money for World Land Trust with his fantastic camp and run challenge. Throughout last year, nature-lover Sam ran an astounding 500 kilometres and camped out for a total of 84 nights- every night of the school holidays up until Christmas.
Braving all weathers, he ran at least 10 kilometres a week, climbing hills, hopping streams, and capturing some stunning views along the way. He was supported all the way by his mum Lianna, a fellow Action Fund Hero who has herself completed several running-based challenges to fundraise for WLT over the years. Setting out to achieve the ambitious goal meant learning the awkward task of setting up the tent and no shortage of rain. Despite many damp cycles of putting up and packing away all his camping gear in the wet weather, Sam persevered through the tough times. While most of us were cosy indoors when the snowflakes started to fall this winter, Sam was settling into his tent for the night and waking up buried under 10 centimetres of snow. With true outdoor spirit, he considered this one of his favourite moments.
Waking up to 10cm of snow was a highlight of the challenge, despite the cold. Credit: Lianna Bell
Inspired by his love of camping and running, Sam decided to set himself this challenge in the hopes that it would rally people to action. He told WLT “I wanted to set myself a hard enough goal so that people might want to donate,” and his perseverance has certainly paid off. Having set out with the aim of raising £400 for WLT’s Action Fund, Sam completed his challenge just before Christmas and has so far raised an incredible £1,230. Now, having completed the challenge, Sam is feeling “really happy and a bit tired.” He was also delightedly surprised at the amount of support he has received, so far raising more than 4 times the amount of donations originally hoped for. The overwhelming response shows just how inspired so many people are by Sam’s dedication to his goal and to protecting the world’s most vulnerable wildlife.
Damp, misty weather did nothing to put off out-door lover Sam from completing his 500km run across all terrains. Credit: Lianna Bell
On choosing World Land Trust to support with this exciting challenge, he explained ‘I love animals and wildlife and wild places, and I want to support a charity that helps conserve these things.’ Our Action Fund does exactly that. Through this programme, we can provide our conservation partners with urgent, essential resources. From securing important land, to fighting forest fires and floods, to training rangers, our Action Fund goes wherever and whenever it is most needed. When asked if he plans to do more fundraising in the future, Sam assured us “Yes definitely!” but is not yet sure what his next adventure might be. Until then, we hope he enjoys a well-earned rest.
If you’ve been inspired by Sam’s remarkable achievement, you can show your support through his JustGiving page, or become a WLT fundraiser yourself. Credit: Lianna Bell
Read more about Sam’s journey on his Just Giving page, donations are still open if you would like to support his outstanding achievement and will remain open until 30/04/2024. If Sam’s story has motivated you to start your own fundraising journey, read here about the many ways you can support WLT and become a fundraiser.