Climbing over 3,500 feet is no small task but local resident Brian Gray and a team of 6 are taking on the famed mountain to raise money for a very worthy cause: the Kent Disability Football League.
Brian, 51, is the Chair and a Trustee of the Kent Disability Football League (KDFL) and has called Sittingbourne his home with his wife for the last 20 years, getting involved in the league as a fixture secretary almost 12 years ago, and has been in the role of Chair for the best part of nine years.
KDFL is a pan-disability football league making football open and accessible for all and consists of 14 different clubs based across Kent and South-East London split across nine divisions catering for all ages from 8 years old to adults and including both males and females. There are over 50 small sided teams regularly taking part in the League making it the one of the largest County Disability Leagues in the country.
“The league continues to grow, and every year the adult section gets bigger and bigger,” explained Brian. “The league is a charity and its costs us around £9,000 a year to put on these football tournaments. We do charge a nominal fee to join every year but that doesn’t even cover half of what we fork out for and every other bit of money we make is through what grants we can apply for, holding raffles, and finding ways to fundraise.”
In order to raise some vital cash for the charity, Brian and a team of six other budding mountaineers are climbing Mount Snowdon on Saturday 8th July and have set up a fundraiser for anyone who is able to support, currently raising over £1,200 of his £2,000 target.
Not an experienced climber by any means, Brian is looking forward to the challenge and has been taking 5-mile walks with his wife regularly to get his paces up.
Speaking on those who have donated already and might in the future, Brian was sure to pass on his deepest gratitude: “I’d like to thank everybody that has donated so far, it’s going to help the league as it continues to grow, anybody who wants to donate make your way over to the fundraising page, even if it’s just a £5 donation, everything helps us to continue to put on these football matches and tournaments.”
Brian will be joined by Gavin Hubbard, Westley Richards, Cameron Richards, Connor Angell, Ethan Gray and Lewis Hill.