Karen Bone, mother of missing Matthew Bone writes about her experience of setting up a 'Walk For' for her son. Matthew went missing on the 9th of March 2018 from Waterlooville, Hampshire when he was 26 years old.
Being a keen walker, I was inspired by Missing People’s
‘Walk For’ campaign and decided it would be a positive thing to do on the first
anniversary of our son, Matt, going missing.
I had an idea for a 12-mile route early on – it would start
from Portsdown Hill near our family home and would finish at Old Winchester
Hill, a place we had enjoyed with Matt since he was a child. Proper planning
commenced early in 2019 and helped us through those dreary days of January
- I had to plan the route, recruit
walkers and organise the fundraising – simple!
Practice runs with friends; one in the snow, one basking in
the February sunshine, one involving a Labrador carrying a deceased rabbit for
4 miles were fun and spurred us on. T-shirts arrived, requests to join the walk
kept coming and donations were going well. Then on the day itself we woke up to
Storm Freya and my heart sank when a journalist phoned to ask if we were still
going ahead with the walk – would my walking team suddenly become faint of
heart too?
I needn’t have worried - despite a last-minute route change
to avoid a particularly soggy field, a friend being left behind whilst she
awaited the delivery of waterproofs and a rather slippery descent into the
village of Hambledon, an incredible 59 walkers turned out on the day. Regardless
of the weather conditions, spirits remained high and there was a real feeling
of solidarity battling the elements and forging on to the final destination
where we were greeted by our support team with hot drinks and cake.
Bryony Long, Head of Supporters and Communications at Missing People, said: "A huge thanks to Karen and all
her friends for walking through the elements to raise over £4,000 for the
charity. This could help us provide 135 specialist counselling sessions for
mothers going through the rollercoaster of emotions experienced when a child
goes missing. Organising a “Walk For” event is a brilliant way to bring your
community together, raise awareness of your missing person and help Missing
People continue providing a vital lifeline. If you would like to set up your
own walk, let us know by filling in the online form and a member of our
friendly team will be able to support you every step of the way."
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