A retired GP and renowned fell runner is calling on local businesses to help her give back to the outdoor activity and education centre that changed her life during challenging teenage years.
Dr Julie Carter is to run more than 88 miles from Keswick to Sunderland over three days as a way of saying “thank you” to Derwent Hill at Portinscale. At the same time, she is supporting families across Wearside who may otherwise struggle to send their children on residential visits due to rising financial pressures.
Originally from Sunderland and now living in Keswick, Julie is aiming to raise £10,000 to enable a group of 30 young school children to go to the centre – giving them the same valuable and inspirational experiences she had more than 45 years ago and to also mark her 60th birthday.
Having first visited Derwent Hill at 13 years old, Julie soon realised it was there she found a natural talent for running and mountaineering and recognised that the centre’s natural surroundings had a re-assuring and calming effect on her mental health and wellbeing.
After feeling lost, it soon gave her the confidence and inspiration to try new activities as well as embrace a positive ‘can-do-attitude’, and this has continued throughout her life having become a champion fell runner, GP, open water swimmer, playwright, actor and author in her adult years. Julie has several writing credits to her name, including Makin a Mackem, Running the Red Line, and The Dreamtime Fell Runner.
With support from registered charity, Friends of Derwent Hill, Julie is now looking to raise enough money for a class of young children to enjoy a five-day residential stay and is hoping that Cumbrian and North East businesses will get on board and support her fundraising.
She explained: “As a teenager, I felt that I didn’t really fit in anywhere or know what I was doing with my life, and I think these feelings are still very common for young people today.
“I could have easily gone down the wrong path, but the support I was given at Derwent Hill, whether it be through social activities, team-building exercises or the life skills I was taught, made that time of my life a lot more survivable and helped me to find myself, and importantly what I loved doing.
“It’s a beautiful world out there and whether through circumstances, poverty or financial cost, many children today simply don’t get to see it. Experiences like Derwent Hill can have an extremely positive, profound and long-lasting effect on young people, like it did me, and so it would be great if I can raise enough money to send a class of school children from Sunderland to enjoy this amazing place.
“It is a lot of money to raise but it would be fantastic if any Wearside and Cumbrian businesses could get on board and help me make this a reality.”
Supported by Together for Children, Julie is planning to start the run on Tuesday April 8 and finish at the Stadium of Light where she will be met by young people who are to run alongside her for the last few metres. Despite some physical disabilities, she is planning to cross moorland and take pathways including the Pennine Way across Teesdale and Weardale before heading towards Chester-le-Street and following the River Wear into Sunderland, completing her challenge in under 48 hours.
Ray Ross from the Friends of Derwent Hill charity, said: “We’re proud that Derwent Hill has had such a lasting impact on Julie’s life for over 40 years, and honoured that she is now raising money to send a group of children to the centre as a way of saying thank you. Her resilience is awe-inspiring, and it is a real privilege to have her continuous support.
“If we can help other children in the same way we did Julie all those years ago, it will be an amazing legacy for the centre as well as Julie’s efforts.”
Derwent Hill is owned by Sunderland City Council and operated by Together for Children. It welcomes more than 2,600 children each year for residential visits. The centre also offers a diverse array of development training courses for business of all sizes.
Donations can be made via Friends of Derwent Hill’s JustGiving Page. For businesses looking to find out more please email derwent.hill@sunderland.gov.uk.
