Fundraising challenges can be as fun and rewarding as they are meaningful.
Climbing mountains, running marathons or hosting a creative community event. Every effort helps people living with brain injury and their families access vital support.
Stan Hetherington, a long-time supporter of Headway Thames Valley, will jet off to Tanzania in January 2026 to climb the highest mountain in Africa – at 19,341 feet – and is fundraising to support us. The motivation comes from his daughter Faye, who sustained a brain injury more than a decade ago.
Giving back to where it all began
“Over 11 years ago my daughter Faye fell and tripped whilst she was out running, leaving her with an acquired brain injury. Headway Thames Valley was there for us. Without their support, especially the Occupational Therapist Bob, our journey would not have been as smooth.”
Our work helping brain injury survivors and their families aims to help them adjust to and cope with their altered circumstances.
Volunteers and clients at Headway Thames Valley
All activities are designed to help towards achieving a range of outcomes such as learning or re-learning skills, improving confidence and self-esteem, functional ability and exercise, helping to facilitate returning to employment where appropriate and many more.
“The work that Headway Thames Valley does is one of a kind. They tailor their support to each individual and this is exactly how they helped us. Even fairly recently when I had a bit of a scare, HTV was there to help and guide me, and this is why I continue to support them.’
Support important causes through fundraising challenges
This is not the first time Stan has taken on such a challenge.
He already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to celebrate his 50th birthday. That time, he raised funds for Mencap, a charity that supports people with a learning disability:
“I was chatting to a 27-year-old friend about him wanting to climb to Mount Everest base camp (which is a similar height to Kilimanjaro). I mentioned that I would much rather climb Kilimanjaro. He said, ‘if I do Kili will you do it with me?’ and I said, ‘why not!’
Line of hikers walking uphill in the mountains
In 2010, he did Kilimanjaro for the second time. With his quadruple amputee friend Ray Edwards and his daughter Faye, they raised funds for Limbcare, a charity supporting amputees and their families.
In 2019, he cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, raising funds for us.
Preparing for the challenge ahead
Stan is already training by walking 10-15 miles each week to keep physically fit and ready for the climb.
It will take five days to get to the summit and two days to climb back down to the start of Chamber’s Route. But he knows that mental resilience will be just as important:
“Temperatures can drop to -15°C. The higher you climb, the less oxygen there is in the air. This impacts physical and mental capabilities. On summit night it means that the walking pace is very slow and your body finds it difficult to stay warm.”
Final ascent to the top of Kilimanjaro
Funds raised from Stan’s Kilimanjaro fundraising challenge will go directly toward helping us continue providing rehabilitation to people living with brain injury and their families.
And guess what? Stan is already planning his next quest. To celebrate his 75th birthday in 2029, he will cycle around Ireland as a new fundraising challenge!
Fundraise for us
Want to take on you personal challenge and support us at the same time? There are many ways you can do it.
Check out our fundraising page and explore possibilities such as social events, online challenges and sales. We can give you all the help and support you need to raise as much money as possible from your amazing efforts.
You can also get in touch with our Fundraising Manager Qudsia for more information: qrahim@headwaythamesvalley.org.uk.
Client stories
Read Lucy’s, Leigh’s and Hannah’s stories to learn about their journeys to recovery after a brain injury.
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