St Leonards-on-Sea resident set to swim the English Channel in a relay team for charity

Christopher says, “In April 2022 our father sadly passed away. Obviously, this completely knocked us sideways but rather than wallowing in the pain and torment, we decided (at his wake) that we could use this moment as a springboard, personally, to become better men - and to set a great example to the next generation (Kev's daughter, our nieces, nephews and godchildren). We were determined to find a way to swim the Channel and when looking for options, we found Aspire. As our grandmother was a wheelchair user (due to a freak incident) and our mother and sister have both had spinal fusions, Aspire’s purpose seemed strikingly intertwined with our personal circumstances. We chose to start with their River Arun swim, as it provided a gentle introduction to outdoor swimming for Kev, and was coincidentally the day before Dad and Kev's shared birthday. So, rather than wallowing in sadness, we decided to wallow in the river!

“The experience was wonderful and we redoubled our efforts and hopes to swim the Channel for Aspire. We joined a relay team so that we could swim together. We are part of the Caribou relay team, who are a great bunch of people and all very good swimmers. It’s wonderful being part of a team and our boat leader Philip is very encouraging.

“Open swimming is incredibly revitalising and uplifting - torturous when getting in, but the mental reward of breaking that barrier is amazing and the physical benefits of the exercise are also huge.

“Our fundraising has gone better than expected. We have reached over £7,000, which was beyond our wildest hopes. It means a lot to be raising money to support people with spinal cord injuries. Having seen how Aspire has helped people like Paula Craig MBE, it is a tremendous honour to support them and those whom the money will help.

“Thank you very much to Aspire for giving us this opportunity. We do not take our place for granted and feel fortunate to be representing Aspire and swimming the Channel, together.”

Sponsor Christopher & Kevin: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/christopher-and-kevin-mundy

Find out more about Aspire at www.aspire.org.uk

Swim the distance of the English Channel in your pool this autumn by signing up to the Aspire Channel Swim for free at www.aspirechannelswim.co.uk