Farnham Royal resident raises more than £900 for East Berkshire MS Society

A Farnham Royal resident has raised more than £900 for a branch of the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society by undertaking a rowing challenge throughout March.

Kerrie Johnson, 62, decided to undertake the challenge to raise money for East Berkshire MS Society, where her sister Tessa Deuchars, who has had MS for 46 years, used to enjoy attending coffee mornings.

From Tuesday, March 1, Kerrie visited the gym at Braywick Leisure Centre in Maidenhead four times a week to complete her target of rowing 100 miles, which is five times across the channel and works out to 170km.

She completed the challenge on Thursday, March 24 and was surprised with a personalised trophy from her partner Dean Gray.

As stated on her JustGiving page, Kerrie was raising £700, however, she has smashed this target and has currently raised more than £900.

Kerrie said: “The thing that’s blown me away is the generosity of the support from everyone.

“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who encouraged and supported me through the challenge and for their generous donations, my daughter Adele and partner Dean for topping my water up so I didn’t have to stop rowing, [and] also, to all the gym instructors for all their encouragement.

“My family’s encouragement has been amazing.”

Kerrie said she will be attending a coffee morning soon to discuss what the money will be spent on.

She is still welcoming donations and her JustGiving page can be found at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kerrie-johnson?utm_id=1&utm_term=QB3VdMyAn