The determination of a Bristol woman who spent a year travelling the UK coast to raise more than £23,000 for charity has been rewarded.
Claire Allen, 45 has been named Endurance Fundraiser of the Year at the 2024 GoCardless JustGiving Awards after raising funds for two housing emergency charities.
From Dorset but now living in Bristol, Claire was one of eight winners announced at the ceremony in London, with her award presented to her by Paralympic swimmer, Ellie Simmonds and previous award winner Gary Mckee who ran 365 marathons in 365 consecutive days.
Overall, there were more than 18,000 public nominations this year followed by over 50,000 votes between all award finalists.
Claire has spent a year walking along the coast of Great Britain to raise money for Shelter and Only A Pavement Away, two charities dedicated to preventing and supporting those affected by homelessness. Setting off from John O’Groats and covering more than 5,000 miles, Claire camped over the course of a year to complete this challenge.
She said: “When I set out from John O’Groats last summer, I thought I’d be home again after a week. I didn’t believe for a moment that I could spend a year walking all the way round Great Britain – let alone win an award for it! But with support and encouragement at every turn, I did it.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me get to the finish line and I’m so pleased to have reached my fundraising goal too. If the money we’ve raised can change just one person’s life, every rainy day, muddy hill and midge bite will have been worth it!”
This year’s finalists were shortlisted by a panel of nine judges including professional strictly dancer Amy Dowden, broadcaster Adele Roberts, TV personality Jake Quickenden, Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds, TV presenter Sunetra Sarker and returning judge, radio presenter Rickie Haywood-Williams. They were also joined by JustGiving president, Pascale Harvie, and managing director at headline sponsor GoCardless, Pat Phelan.
However, it was the 50,000 votes cast by the public that led to the final winners being selected.
As well as the celebrity judges, the star-studded event was hosted by British broadcaster Rylan Clark and attended by celebrities including ITV’s Charlotte Hawkins, Celebrity Big Brother and Netflix’s Bradley Riches, Love Island’s Faye Winter and former Olympian Fatima Whitbread.
Lindsey Burrow, wife of the late Rob Burrow was also in attendance to accept a Special Recognition award in her husband’s honour.
Host Rylan said: “It was incredible to host last night’s GoCardless JustGiving awards to celebrate the amazing work the winners and finalists have done this year to raise money for causes close to their hearts. They should all be really proud of themselves!”
Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager of JustGiving said:”It was incredible to celebrate all of our amazing finalists last night, including our endurance champion Claire – what a hero.
“We’ve all been completely blown away by what Claire has achieved and how much money she has raised for Shelter, she is a true inspiration to us all.”
Pat Phelan, MD of UK & Ireland and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless said: “It was an honour to see Claire rewarded for her efforts at last night’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards. The entire team of judges were incredibly impressed by her dedication to supporting two charities close to her heart.”
The GoCardless JustGiving Awards offer a chance for thousands of fundraisers to be in with the chance to have their hard work recognised. To find out more about all eight winners, visit here.