FLYING HIGH FOR CHARITY
HOW far can you fly on little more than €200? It might just get you from Cyprus to London with a scheduled airline if you’re lucky.
But intrepid fund-raiser Graham Burns plans to clock up not far short of 10,000km on a marathon budget-airline trip which will take him to six European cities in the space of six days … and it has cost him a mere €205.
Graham, a former Metropolitan Police Special Branch officer who lives in the Paphos village of Mandria, is planning his mega-journey to raise money for two local registered charities.
And he hopes to match the distance he will be travelling in cash sponsorship to swell the coffers of the Paphos-based Cancer Patients Support Group and the St Michael’s Hospice Charity.
Graham will set off on his travels next March heading for the Italian city of Milan from Paphos. His route will take him onward to Vilnius in Lithuania, then to Oslo in Norway, London, the German city of Dusseldorf and, finally, the Italian capitol Rome from where he will return to Paphos after what is likely to be an exhausting six-day airborne trek.
To prove he has hit the ground running at his destinations, he will be buying a fridge magnet at every airport as proof of his arrival and he’s hoping that his efforts will be a magnet for sponsorship from local businesses and individuals alike.
Says Graham: “With the advent of low cost airlines starting to service new and smaller airports I became interested in just how far, how economically and how quickly, in this day and age, you can travel on an extremely tight budget.”
Graham has booked tickets with low-cost airline Ryanair for each individual flight. He explains: “In planning my trip it was a great advantage having Paphos as a Ryanair hub which, incredibly, meant I could travel continuously over seven legs throughout Europe within six days for exactly €205.”
Graham will only spend around 15 hours in the air, but will travel a total of 9,358kms between airports and is seeking sponsorship for each individual leg of his journey.
Graham adds: “These are two very worthwhile causes. The Cancer Patients Support Group is the well known fundraising arm of the Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends (PASYKAF) whose aim is to provide free Home Care Nursing, Psychosocial Support, Physiotherapy and a daily, weekday travel service to the Oncology Centre in Nicosia, all of which is vital to our community.
St Michael’s Hospice Charity is an independent organisation formed to assist with the building and running costs of the first purpose-built hospice in Cyprus. Archangel Michael Hospice, will provide free Palliative care for patients and their families and offers the only dedicated children’s hospice resources within Cyprus.
For further information on how you can sponsor Graham’s Cash Magnet Tour e-mail him at ukggb@yahoo.co.uk
