Good News: 9-year-old boy with cerebral palsy walks 42kms and raises £91,700 for charity

A nine-year-old boy with cerebral palsy and autism, Tobias Weller completed a marathon challenge during the lockdown and has raised £91,719, three times the initial target of £30,000. Nicknamed as Captain Tobias, he can only walk with the help of crocodile walker but the entire crowd cheered for him as he finished walking 42 kilometres in 70 days to raise money for his “two favourite charities”, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Paces School.

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Inspired by UK’s homegrown name, Captain Tom, who raised millions for National Health Service in the UK, Tobias decided to take up the walking challenge after the coronavirus lockdown ended his plans of participating in a sponsored walk of one kilometre in May. Therefore, since then, Tobias has been walking up and down the streets at Sheffield. During the initial days of the challenge, he was reportedly able to walk only 50 meters, However, gradually Tobias managed to cover the distance of 750 meters every day.

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‘Massive goal’

On May 31, the police of the area closed the road and socially distanced neighbours cheered for Tobias while he completed his “phenomenal achievement”. Tobias’ mother Ruth Garbutt has informed that her son wanted to continue walking and complete at least 50km. She also added that she was “bursting with pride” for her boy who “achieved a massive goal”. According to international reports, Tobias, himself was in a state of disbelief after finishing the marathon and he said, “I love it when my neighbours clap and cheer for me and getting stronger and stronger every day is such a good feeling.”

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According to the fundraiser page, Tobias wanted to raise money for the two charities because he had several operations at the Sheffield children’s hospital and is currently studying at Paces. In the launch video, the nine-year-old has described the challenge as “ginormous” but he said, “A marathon is 42,195 metres, but I’m determined to do it.” All the raised money will reportedly contribute to anew home at Paces which will be a national centre for conductive education. Paces’ chief executive even passed a ‘special thanks’ to Tobias.

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