A host of celebrity challengers who accomplished extraordinary feats of physical endurance for Sport Relief 2012 were welcomed at No. 10 Downing Street recently by Prime Minister David Cameron.
David Walliams, Helen Skelton, John Bishop and Josh Lewsey had the honor of meeting the Prime Minister, who paid tribute to their heroic efforts and extraordinary fundraising. He also acknowledged the incredible generosity and commitment of the British Public in raising a record breaking total of £52,070,587 so far.
David Walliams swam 140 miles up the length of the Thames – seven times the English Channel – in the BT Sport Relief Challenge: Walliams vs The Thames. Helen Skelton completed a gruelling 500 mile expedition across Antarctica in her Polar Challenge for Sport Relief. John Bishop ran, cycled and rowed 295 miles from Paris to London in five days in the BT Sport Relief Challenge: Bishop’s Week of Hell. Josh Lewsey captained the England team to victory in the First Nation Home 1,000 mile race around the UK.
David Walliams said: “It’s lovely to have our efforts acknowledged by the man at the top. I’d also like to thank all those people who gave us their support and donations. I’ve seen the difference their money can make and every single person who gave can know they’ve done something very special.”
Helen Skelton said: “I feel truly honored to be here today to represent the hundreds of thousands of children across the country who raised money and did a mile for Sport Relief. Already millions of pounds of this year’s record breaking total has been committed to amazing projects all over the world and I’m proud to have been able to play my part.”
John Bishop said: “It’s a real privilege to visit No. 10 with my fellow challengers. We worked hard to do our bit for Sport Relief this year, but the real thanks goes to all those people whosupported us. Having seen how the money is spent I know it will be used to do brilliant, life changing work.”
Josh Lewsey said: “I’m very proud to be invited to No. 10 on behalf of the England team which competed in the First Nation Home challenge. Huge thanks to the participants, the team, the support staff and of course all those who donated knowing that the money raised will be used to make a real difference to the lives of those who need it most.”
All the celebrities’ heroic efforts will help vulnerable people living incredibly tough lives here in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries.
Money raised through Sport Relief 2012 will soon be hard at work. The charity has already committed to spending £20million to improve the lives of a million people living in urban slums in Africa. This includes £10million from the UK Government, which matched pound for pound £10million of the money raised by the British public that Comic Relief will be spending on urban slums.
In addition, a grant of £5million has been committed to the GAVI Alliance, which will be spent on life-saving vaccines for children in the poorest parts of Africa. This includes a £2.5m contribution from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the GAVI Matching Fund and money raised through the BT Sport Relief Challenge: Bishop’s Week of Hell.
