Charity trekkers swap beach for the sands of the Sahara

Financial advisers John Longford and Matthew Cook will join marketing executive Tom Harvey on a trek to raise funds for a charity working with young cancer patients. All three work for Sunderland-based Northern Spire, and will be completing a four-day, 50-mile trek to support the Dragonfly Cancer Trust, where Matthew is on the board.

The north east charity works with young cancer patients with a palliative diagnosis, providing much needed support through providing cash gifts, keepsakes and creative therapy.

In less than 15 years the charity has been transformed from a small, family-led organisation into a national charity working with every major children’s cancer unit in the country.

John, Matthew and Tom have recently started their training for the November trip, and will be spending time walking between Roker and Whitburn to get used to walking on sand for hours.

John explained: “Our training has started and we’ll be using local beaches as part of our training programme. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not something you would do yourself, but I’m happy to be doing it to raise funds for a charity that does such inspirational work.”

Tom said the trek is taking place early in November: “We fly from Manchester to Marrakech and then we have a nine-hour drive to the southern edge of the Sahara, where we start walking. We’ll walk about 50 miles over four days, sleeping under the stars at night.”

Matthew explained why the three had chosen the Dragonfly Trust: “It’s a small charity doing some fantastic work locally and nationally. We’re aiming to raise about £1,800 each and we know the funds will make a difference in the lives of young people living with cancer.

“Obviously there’s a link between Northern Spire and Dragonfly through me being on the charity board, which I joined late last year. I’m excited and a bit nervous – I don’t like the sound of the spiders, snakes and scorpions we might come across.”

John joined Northern Spire three years ago after spending almost ten years working with Barclays. He is a keen follower of local football and regularly goes to the gym.

Tom joined the Northern Spire team two years ago after studying business and finance management at the University of Sunderland. He is now part of Northern Spire’s marketing team, working on business development and client events.

Matthew has worked for Northern Spire since 2019. He recently qualified as a financial adviser, passing the prestigious Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) Diploma in Financial Services.

Matthew is also the Managing Director of popular business network The Mussel Club, which he runs with the help and support of John and Tom.

“I’m sure we’ll be tapping up Mussel Club members as well as Northern Spire clients for donations to our cause,” joked Matthew.

The trio will be part of a 30-strong team completing the walk, from a range of different charities and organisations.

If you’d like to support their Sahara trek, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/northernspiresamuelphillips

For more on Dragonfly Cancer Trust, go to  https://dragonflycancertrust.org

For more on Northern Spire, go to https://partnership.sjp.co.uk/northernspire