21 Jul 2023 Community

Henry Philpott raises thousands for The Kirkwood by running The London Marathon in memory of his mum

The Philpott family have raised tens of thousands of pounds for The Kirkwood over the last 13 years in memory of Joanne Philpott, a loving wife and mother who was cared for by The Kirkwood and sadly died in 2010. This year Henry Philpott, Joanne’s son, took on the London Marathon challenge raising £2,800 adding to the funds the family have already raised for our charity in her memory.  

Henry has been a keen supporter of The Kirkwood for over a decade and is passionate about the care we provide after witnessing the care offered to his mother. Henry, 28 has taken on a number of challenges and helped to raise extra funds for a charity that is dear to his heart.  

The family have a tribute page set up as a dedication to Joanne and that has so far raised over £75,000 for The Kirkwood since it was set up by Henry's dad John.  

On supporting The Kirkwood Henry commented: "We have been supporting The Kirkwood for the last 13 years since my mum died in 2010 after using the services of The Kirkwood. My dad John set up an event called the Trail Run which he ran for a number of years and we have managed to raise over £75,000 for The Kirkwood over this period of time from that event.  

"I have done various road races myself to raise funds too, I have done 10k runs, marathons and a triathlon too including one in Marbella in 2019 where I raised over £1,500. The latest race I have done is the London Marathon earlier this year which raised over £2,800 for The Kirkwood.  

"I'm not a professional runner like my dad is, I just play at it but I enjoy the feeling you get from running a race. I have a friend called Jack Neagle who has done a number of the races with me and has been a big part of my journey to raise as much funds as possible for The Kirkwood.  

"Jack wants to do an Iron Man challenge when we are 30 and that's in two years so we'll see what happens. I've applied to do the London Marathon again next year in the meantime.  

"The Kirkwood does an amazing job in supporting people across the community. I remember how well they supported my mum and dad. They offered counseling to me and although I didn't think it was for me I do believe it helped my dad. The Kirkwood is an important part of the Kirklees area and I'm always proud to raise funds for them." 

The Kirkwood's community fundraiser Julia Owen said of Henry and his family's fantastic fundraising efforts: "Henry and John are just amazing people who have both together raised nearly £80,000 for The Kirkwood overall. We can't thank them enough, they are both special people."