Football coach dribbling from Africa to Wembley closing in on £50,000 as French kindness keeps him going
A Staffordshire football coach dribbling a football more than 2,000 miles from Marrakech to Wembley is closing in on £50,000 raised for St Giles Hospice, buoyed by an extraordinary surge in donations and the remarkable kindness of strangers in France.
James Lewis, 26, from Rugeley, is currently making his way through France and is on track to reach Calais around 15 July, where he is hoping to hit the £50,000 mark, the halfway point of his £100,000 fundraising goal. He will then cross the Channel by ferry on 16 July before arriving at Wembley on 19 July to watch the World Cup final and cheer England on. His final leg will then take him home to The Chase in Rugeley on 25 July, completing his challenge.
With just 10 days to go before he reaches Dover, James has raised over £40,000 for St Giles Hospice. £50,000 alone could fund the cost of a nurse for more than a year, or over 1,600 hours of specialist care on the St Giles Inpatient Unit.
But it is not just donations that have kept James going. Over the last few days a number of kind-hearted French couples have gone above and beyond to support him on his journey, picking him up each evening and dropping him back at his destination each morning so he can continue his challenge. They have provided him with food, a bed, shelter, clean clothes and a shower, giving him the rest and care he needs to keep going day after day.
James said: “The kindness I have experienced in France has been absolutely incredible. I set off from Africa completely alone and yet complete strangers have opened their homes to me, fed me, looked after me and made sure I am ready to go again the next morning. It has kept me going more than they will ever know. I am so close to home now and I am not stopping until I get there.”
Elinor Eustace, Chief Executive of St Giles Hospice, said: “James has shown the most extraordinary determination throughout this challenge and the kindness he has received from complete strangers in France is a reminder of just how much his story is touching people across the world. Every pound he raises makes a real and tangible difference to the patients and families we care for across Staffordshire, North Birmingham and surrounding areas, and we are so proud of everything he is achieving. We cannot wait to see him home.”
To follow James’s progress and donate, visit www.justgiving.com/page/jameslewis26 or follow @jameslewisruns on TikTok, @jameslewisruns on Instagram or @James Lewis on Facebook.
