A man with an extremely big heart recently completed an incredible 1,050-kilometre walk from Pattaya to Phuket to raise money for a children’s charity.
James Lee Valentine, or “Wild Wolf” as he’s known to the Hash House Harriers, took on the arduous task to raise funds to support the Take Care Kids Foundation, leaving Pattaya on April 20 and finally setting foot onto Phuket on Tuesday (June 6).
James set a target of raising B1 million from his walk to contribute towards the building and completion of a foster home for the foundation which would provide home for up to 50 people, most of whom are orphans.
Taking on weather conditions that varied, from soaring hear to monsoon downpours, the longest distance James covered in one single day was 43.2km, while also clocking over 40km on three other separate days. He also had to take a nine-day timeout to recover from a range of blisters that emerged from his punishing schedule.
As he neared his destination of Phuket, James was joined by several other members of the local Hash House Harriers who met up with him at the Erawan Hotel 9km into Phang Nga province before finally making it to the Sarasin Bridge. It marked the 48th day of an incredible adventure for a man with a very big heart.
James said he was exuberant on finishing his endeavour, extending a personal thanks to Paul and Gim James of the Expat Hotel, Patong for all their help and encouragement, along with others along the way.
“A giant thank you to around 20 Phuket Hashers and my buddies Sammy and Zac from Pattaya who joined me for a fabulous 9km walk over the Sarasin Bridge to the Rimpan Restaurant in Phuket for a spicyliclous lunch,” James posted on his Facebook page.
“Thank you also to my two delightful children Princess and CJ for their 1,000 decorations and cake and cards and message of congratulations. You are the best children ever.
“And a massive thank you to the many people who have supported me throughout my ordeal with your messages of encouragement and donations to the Take Care Kids charity.
“All in all, it has been a wonderful journey with no drama and an exceptional experience, one that I feel blessed to have accomplished on behalf of the Take Care Kids charity.
Now is the time to donate. Thank you [and] God bless the children.”
There was a party to celebrate his and the team’s achievement on Friday (June 9) where a series of fund-raising initiatives strived to help him edge ever closer to his overall target of B1mn.
Take Care Kids is a volunteer-based Foundation also known as “Take Care Kids Onlus and Thailand Foundation”, which was created to safe and protect children and in certain cases single mothers with children from violence and various forms of severe abuse and to help them rebuild their lives and a new future. Born in Italy but operating in Thailand in the city of Pattaya, it was founded in 2006 and is officially recognised by the Thailand Ministry of Social Welfare since March 2010 as a non-profit, charity organisation, also operating since early 2018 as a Foster Home.
