A FUND-RAISING campaign to support a struggling Cumbrian charity has topped more than £200,000.
Last month, Oliver Voysey launched Oliver's Calvert Army, a crowdfunding appeal to help save the Lake District Calvert Trust and its accessible activity centre, Calvert Lakes.
Oliver suffered a brain injury as a baby, and regularly accessed the service as part of his rehabilitation.
The fund-rasier intially set out to raise £25,000 - but that target was soon smashed, and had reached £201,521 at the time of writing.
Oliver, who was left blind and with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and learning difficulties after his injury, posted an video on his fund-raising page to thank his supporters.
The video showed Oliver writing "thank you" - which his mum, Sarah, explained was difficult for him to do.
She wrote: "This is hard for him because of his cerebral palsy but he’s determined to learn to write. Here he is using a special pen grip to hold the pen and I’m supporting him hand over hand whilst we learn these new words. Thank you all."
Oliver, from Newcastle, took on a series of challenges, including walking on a treadmill for 13 minutes, standing independently for 13 seconds, completing a 13-minute walk, scoring 13 goals in a penalty shoot-out and eating 13 party rings in one go.
The Calvert Trust has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, and has seen a reduction in income of more than £1 million.
This is despite the fact it has furloughed staff and moved into new areas such as B&B accommodation.
Oliver's campaign went viral and he and his family made appearances on This Morning and BBC Breakfast News.
Donations can be made to Oliver's campaign at gofundme.com/olivers-calvert-army.
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