Six-year-old Oscar Burrow from Lancaster in England vowed to climb the height of Mount Everest to raise money for sick children after his friend’s sister passed away from cancer.
Oscar Burrow has pledged to climb 12 of the highest mountains in Great Britain to reach the height of Mount Everest, which is a huge 8,849 m (29,032 ft).
This will include Scafell Pike, Snowdon, and Ben Nevis. The six-year-old boy from Lancaster wishes to raise money for Derian House Children’s Hospice. He decided to take on this challenge after his friend’s sister passed away from cancer.
Oscar Burrow – raising money for sick children
Oscar Burrow plans to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest to support Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley, England, which provides respite and end-of-life care for more than 400 children across the North West.
He said, “I want to climb Mount Everest because it’s the hardest mountain in the world. My favourite walk so far has been Helvellyn.
“One thing I did like was when daddy and grandad had to hold onto me because it was so windy. And a man donated some money to us as he passed by!”.
On his journey so far, Oscar has already tackled Ingleborough, Whernside, The Old Man of Coniston, Helvellyn, and Skiddaw.
He has been undergoing the process with his parents, his grandad, and his little sister. Oscar is tracking his progress with a special mural of Everest on his bedroom wall.
The target – well underway
Oscar originally planned to raise £29,000 to allow 29 “poorly children to go on holiday”. Thanks to a recent donation of £10,000 by stranger Mark Dunn, that goal is one big step further.
Mr Dunn, from the Houghton Dunn Charitable Trust, heard about Oscar’s challenge on BBC North West Tonight earlier in the month and decided to make the significant donation.
It was Oscar’s young age that compelled Mark Dunn to help. He said, “Oscar has been making a fantastic effort for someone so young – he’s very brave”.
After this generous donation and with four mountains to go, Oscar is less than £2,000 off his desired target. He said, “Mark has helped us and I’m almost there – I only need £2,000 and we have done it”.
Oscar and his family – supportive of the journey
According to the family’s JustGiving page, Oscar was inspired when he learned about mountaineers Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay in school.
The 12 mountains journey, however, was dreamt up by Oscar’s father, Matt Burrow. Matt is a project manager in the NHS.
On Saturday, 25 March, Oscar and his family scaled their eighth mountain, Glyder Fawr in Snowdonia, Wales. One day, Oscar wishes to become the youngest person to summit Mount Everest.
The next mountain the Burrow family will take on is Scarfell Pike, the highest mountain in England, on 6 April. To help Oscar reach his target before he completes the 12 mountains challenge, you can donate here.