A Sheffield student who has Chronic Kidney Disease is raising money for charity by hiking up the Yorkshire Three Peaks in May.
Joe Skidmore, 18, has set a £1,000 target for the Kidneys for Life charity, alongside the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Joe is a first year biomedical science student at the University of Sheffield who was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) at the age of 10.
Kidneys for Life, a charity in Manchester, has helped Joe with treatment frequently since his diagnosis.
Joe said: “Since I can remember they have helped me and my family with my illness.
“For the majority of my time with CKD, I had been with the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, so now for the second year running I will attempt to raise money to give back to all the people that helped me.”
Last year, Joe raised £699 for the same charity by running the Greater Manchester 10k run with his friend, Hugo.
This year, Joe will attempt the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, in under 12 hours. The 24-mile long route Joe plans to complete includes 1,585m of ascent, where Joe will climb Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.
Joe plans to do this with friends from the University of Sheffield Rugby Union Club, a society that takes part in regular charity work.
Last year, club members ran a half marathon through the snow to raise money for the Movember foundation, a charity raising awareness for men’s mental health, collecting over £6,500.
When asked what inspired him to raise money for the second year in a row, Joe said: “My mum is a huge inspiration to me. She has raised money for Kidneys for Life since my diagnosis.”
The Kidneys for Life charity, founded in 1976, aims to provide starter level funding for research projects which focus on improving dialysis, ways to make transplanted kidneys last longer and also methods to detect early stage kidney disease.
As well as helping Joe, Kidneys for life help the 260,000 people who suffer Chronic Kidney Disease in the north-west alone.
To support Joe visit his JustGiving page online.
