Kevin Brown to reach £40,000 for Tiny Lives charity for his 40th birthday

Kevin Brown is the factory shift manager based at Elanders UK North Tyneside. This is his story:

“Next year will be my 40^th birthday and to mark this I want to reach my target of raising £40,000 for the charity Tiny Lives.

This is my 12th year of fundraising for Tiny Lives, which supports premature and sick newborn babies and their families.

It supplies items, funds, staff specialists and support to the RVI Neonatal Unit in Newcastle, helping to make the experience a little easier and more comfortable for parents, babies, siblings and family members.

I became aware of the charity through my friend, whose twins were born prematurely and, sadly, one did not survive.

With a group of friends, we rallied together to fundraise for the charity. Twelve years later I haven’t lost my motivation to keep the fundraising spirit alive.

Over the years I have raised £37,000, so between now and next year I will be pushing hard to reach my target of £40,000.

To date, I have participated in 42 half marathons and a total of around 150 events, which has been anything from charity nights to sports challenges.

Elanders has been a great support over the years and has kindly sponsored a number of charity nights. Members of the team have also supported me and I would like to say a huge thank you to all of them.

When Covid hit, I had to look at new ways of fundraising. Thankfully, online events and charity auctions helped to keep the momentum alive.

It will be a huge achievement to reach the milestone of £40,000 in my 40^th year and I’m looking forward to toasting this and thanking all of the people who have been so generous supporting me and the charity over the years.”