A pair of individuals who have helped secure the future of two charitable organisations in the North Lakes will be present when they throw open their doors today.
Calvert Lakes at Bassenthwaite and its sister organisation Calvert Reconnections – a specialist acquired brain injury rehabilitation centre in Keswick – have invited Oliver Voysey and Charles Dean after they independently boosted their finances following fundraising campaigns which totalled £730,000.
Oliver, who suffered a brain injury when he was two days old, raised money for Calvert Lakes through personal challenges leading up to his 13th birthday.
He was a regular visitor to Calvert Lakes, which was threatened with closure after losing more than £1 million in income during the pandemic.
More than 3,000 people joined Oliver’s Calvert Army and took part in their own themed challenges.
And disabled dad Charles Dean, 46, of Wigton, covered the 874-mile Land’s End to John O’Groats equivalent on Cumbria’s roads by wheelchair, in just 10 weeks.
Fundraising manager Jennifer Scott said: “We have been overwhelmed by the public’s response to our lockdown appeal.”
Giles Mounsey-Heysham, chairman of Lake District Calvert Trust, said: “We are all looking forward to welcoming guests back.
“Once this pandemic is over, the ‘Calvert experience’ will be needed more than ever.”
