October’s fundraiser of the month – Steve Thomas

Steve Thomas climbed London’s iconic gherkin to raise money to help people living with MS like himself

I have been a support volunteer for several MS charities since 2016.

When speaking with people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) or any disability, they almost always say they cannot do something anymore. I have tried to promote that if you change the way you do something then a task can be achieved.

For some this may be making a meal, walking the dog, making a drink, and so on. So, I decided to try to practice what I preach and raise money at the same time.

While I was on a peer-pod call, I mentioned that my favourite building in London was the Gherkin, and I would like to walk up it to raise money for MS-UK in the process. The record for the walk is four minutes and 10 seconds. My adjustment to complete the challenge was to add time.

On the call was Lucy King in MS-UK’s fundraising department who said, “let me look into this”. Lucy called me two weeks later to say the Gherkin thing was a goer! This was in July 2023 and the agreed walk date was 8 October 2023.

The walk was open to others who fancied the challenge and we eventually had 26 people take part. Each had 2 guests with them, and we also had 14- volunteers who massively helped on the day.

Due to my disability and not wanting to cause a traffic jam on the stairs, I started 1.5 hours before everyone else. I finished in 54 minutes, so while not challenging the world record, I did surprise everyone as the estimated time was 2.5 hours!

When the walk was completed, the participants met their guests on the 30-floor where the medals were presented, and a well-earned glass of prosecco was had. The 30^th floor was completely unoccupied, so participants, volunteers and guest had some great photo opportunities. I’m third from the left in the front row in the picture.

We eventually raised over £14k and have been invited back in 2024. Our target for 2024 is 100+ participants and to raise £50k.

The day was amazing and made possible by the Gherkin management team, and the MS-UK team, Lucy, Sade, Shannon and Vicky,

I can only thank MS-UK for making my dream come true. Registration for 2024 is open and I hope to see you there.

Could you power the tower for MS-UK?

If you think you could scale the tower then we’d love you to get involved! Simply click the button below to sign up for 2024, a member of the fundraising team will be in touch with you soon.