A cancer-surviving veteran has embarked on a 900-mile trek across Scotland to raise money for charity alongside his two pet alpacas, Bernie and Harry.
Speaking to GB News, Charlie Charlie One founder Stuart Roberts detailed how he and his team of fellow veterans and cancer survivors came up with the idea to include his alpacas on the trip.
Read Also: Andy Burnham urged to not be a 'coward' and back ban on first cousin marriage
The fundraising adventure called “Where in the World is Bernie?” has taken the team of six across the length and breadth of Scotland throughout the month of August.
Their goal is to raise £15,000 for their charity, Charlie Charlie One (CC1), which helps provide peer support to serving personnel, veterans and their families who are facing one of life’s toughest battles, cancer.
Joined by alpaca Bernie, Mr Roberts told GB News how the idea came about to include Bernie and Harry in his fundraising efforts.
He said: “We were asked why we’ve included them on many occasions, and routinely it was just three of us, myself, Nick and Peter going round.
“And we said, if it was three grumpy old men, would you have come up and spoken to us and put money in the bucket? And most people said, ‘no, it was the alpacas’.”
Mr Roberts explained that the charity was in need of further fundraising in order to continue the hard work they do to support veterans battling cancer.
He said: “Charlie Charlie One has been established for just over four and a half years, but we needed to raise funds to really enable us to do two things, apply for further funds and grants, but more importantly to underpin our ability to reach out and provide critical support to those veterans and serving personnel seeking our support.
“So really twofold, but actually it’ll provide a strong foundation on which to move the charity forward.”
The veteran opened up on his own cancer battle, and how it inspired him to create the charity to help others like him.
He told GB News: “I was diagnosed in 2019 and I’m still undergoing treatment, so I’m not yet out of the woods. I established Charlie Charlie One in 2021, and we now have over 50 volunteers covering all three services.
“We’re looking after about 42 individuals at the moment, that’s a four-fold increase in the number of individuals requiring support. So I thought about what we could do to raise funds, raise awareness, and hence came ‘Where in the World is Bernie?'”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- Soldiers rescue barn owl 70 miles off coast while taking part in 2,000-mile race
- World’s oldest person celebrates extraordinary 117th birthday and thanks Britain for ‘lovely’ wishes
- Tetraplegic veteran set to take on 79-mile Scottish coast challenge to raise money for charity
Mr Roberts admitted he and his team have been “blown away” by the hospitality and support they have received whilst on their 900-mile journey.
He said: “Bernie has actually performed well, and I must admit, Bernie and Harry were really great throughout the 13 days of the trip. Bernie is quite placid, he only spat at eight people during the 13 days, so I think he did very well.
“But we were blown away by the hospitality, the friendliness and the generosity of everybody we met, from individuals, from those providing accommodation overnight.
“But also the staff who were actually running some of Scotland’s iconic locations. We really were blown away, it was amazing.”
Mr Roberts also gave a special mention to GB News viewers, whom he had also met during his fundraising efforts.
He concluded: “Can I just close by saying, thank you to GB News, your viewers were absolutely superb. We met a couple on the way round.
“But also thanks to everybody who has supported us. My wife Jane, my daughter-in-law Claire, and Nick, Peter and Rory who accompanied us and everybody involved.”
If you would like to donate to Charlie Charlie One’s fundraiser, please click here.
Our Standards:
The GB News Editorial Charter
