Woman to take on the Great Wall of China trek for Derian House in Chorley

Lisa Spann, who grew up in Preston, will be taking on the 50 mile Great Wall of China trek over five days from April 1, in aid of the Chorley-based children’s hospice.

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The 48-year-old, who has one son, said: “I am an e-commerce manager at Totally Wicked and I am a workaholic. I got kicked out of my office one lunchtime and I was bored, so I got looking into various things and I ended up booking a Great Wall of China charity trek.“I am not a fitness person but I knew I wanted to do something different. Something made me look at the challenge and sign up.“I thought if I am doing something this stupid, I should do it for a good cause.“I began researching who to support and it took me six hours to finally decide on Derian House.“I wanted to choose a local charity and one which was quite small, so the money would make a difference.“I was shown around the place and I was blown away but what they do.“My target is £5,000 and I know this will make a difference to Derian House.“Every £40 raised will pay for a family to have a session together in the specialist pool, £78 will pay for two wristbands at Blackpool Pleasure Beach so that one of the support staff can take a child’s sibling out for the day to somewhere they can’t normally get to. These are just a couple of examples but goes to show just how far £5,000 can go.“I am very fortunate that I can self fund this trip which means that every single penny I raise will go direct to Derian House“I am the first person to have dome such a big charity challenge oversees for them and I hope it will inspire others to follow suit.”

Lisa, who lives in Westhoughton, added she can’t wait for the trek, which she organised through Charity Challenge.She said: “I am not fit, so I will be walking all over Lancashire to train.“I can cope with the walking, but the 10,000 steps will be tough.“My accommodation will be pretty basic, as I will be taking a sleeping bag.I am really looking forward to it.”To sponsor Lisa visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=LisaSpann&pageUrl=1