Youngster with cerebral palsy raises thousands at charity walk … – Oxford Mail

A COURAGEOUS teenager with cerebral palsy walked a mile around the grounds of Blenheim Palace to raise cash for a new minibus for his school.

Leo Burbidge, 13, successfully complete the challenge called Leos Mega Mile at the Woodstock World Heritage Site as more than 150 friends, family members and supporters cheered him on.

A total of 1,650 was raised on the day, a figure matched by Blenheim Palace to make the final amount raised 3,300.

To date, Leo, who lives with his family in Woodstock, has raised more than 10,000 towards the costs of the new minibus for The Marlborough School in the town, which will be in the region of 40,000.

His mum Rachel said: We could not have asked for a better day and it will stay in our memories and the memory of many others forever.

The Ormerod Base Unit at The Marlborough School caters for 25 young people with all sorts of disabilities and by allowing Leo to do his challenge in the beautiful grounds of Blenheim the community has come together and helped every one of them.

Leos challenge on July 1 was fully supported by staff at the palace after the youngster sent a personal letter to the Duke of Marlborough asking if he would be willing to host the event.

Blenheim Palaces operations director Heather Carter said: We are so pleased and proud of what Leo has achieved and delighted we were able to provide him a suitably grand location for his epic challenge

"He is a very determined young man and has an amazing family who are supporting him all the way and we wish them all the very best of luck in reaching their target to purchase the new school bus.

To find out more about Leos Mega Mile Challenge and how to support it go to bit.ly/2v21SfD

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Youngster with cerebral palsy raises thousands at charity walk ... - Oxford Mail