With everything that’s happening in today’s world, a lot of people are at crossroads on what to do and how to survive it.

Most people are focused on their day-to-day lives, just figuring out how to survive now and beyond is this pandemic.

And then there are also people who want and can do more. And some of them have the influence to make it happen.

War veteran Captain Tom Moore wanted to do his part in helping fight the N-Covid 19 pandemic.

Because he was about to celebrate his 100th birthday on April 30, he declared that he wanted to contribute. He decided to complete 100 laps of walking around his garden so he can raise £1,000.

Dressed in a blue blazer with his war medals pinned to the left chest of his blazer, he started the challenge assisted by his walker. He started the challenge on April 9, 2020, and guess what?

Within 24 hours, they raised £1,000! How amazing!

Because he hadn’t finished the 100 laps yet, Capt. Moore continued his challenge. Capt. Moore’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, before they started the challenge, wasn’t sure if they would actually raise the money.

“If we could amazingly raise £1,000, we’d be delighted,” Hannah mentioned.

And they did reach it and thought if they could get to £5,000 before the end of the month. But they figured why not aim higher? And they raised their second target by 100 times to £100,000.

24 hours later, they posted this update on their fundraising page on JustGiving.

“We are overwhelmed by the response and have reached our second target of £100,000. So have decided to set the bar higher – let’s do £250,000 for our NHS heroes,” they wrote on their JustGiving page.

And after 24 hours, they reached this second target again!

And do you know what? Five days since they started the challenge, they were able to raise over £1,000,000.

“We are so thrilled and so glad to be able to unite our country at such a sad time and all for our incredible NHS. Tom would like to thank all of you, from the bottom of his heart,” they updated on April 14, 2020.

And two days later, on April 16, 2020, Capt. Tom Moore completed his 100 laps around his Bedfordshire garden, 1 week after he started.

Would you like to know how much he raised by the time he finished?

They were able to raise more than £12 million. And all because this nonagenarian decided to help.

“It’s incredible. The support we’ve had across the country, and now America and France, it’s been amazing,” Benji, Captain Moore’s grandson, remarked. “I’ve been speechless all week and it’s got to a point where I genuinely have no words.”

Capt. Moore was ecstatic that they surpassed their initial target and now able to help NHS even more.

He continued to keep the fundraising page open for those who still want to donate. As of writing, the fundraiser has already raised more than £28 million, which is more than twice the amount he raised when he completed the challenge.

The money they raised by the time he finished has already been donated to the NHS Charities Together. The donation supports 160 health service organizations connected with NHS.

NHS Charities Together Chairman Ian Lush said that these organizations support the wellbeing of their staff and they also help their patients connect with their families.

“We’re paying for extra counseling for staff… going through a traumatic time. We’re praying for food packages [and] wellbeing packs… so they don’t have to worry about shopping [after their shift],” Chairman Lush explained.

Some of the donations will also go towards providing more WiFi connection and electronic devices for patients so they can keep in touch with their families during treatment.

And despite the gravity of this pandemic, Capt. Moore remained hopeful.

“With this invisible enemy that we’ve got, we’ve all got to look forward to the future when we’ve beaten this enemy,” Capt. Moore said. “Whatever people think, we shall get better. Things will be better tomorrow.”

Would you like to see Capt. Moore perform his challenge? Watch the video below.

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Source: Sky News, Metro, JustGiving, Evening Standard