A CHARITY which was set up by a dale couple after the loss of their baby is launching a massive fundraising challenge on the anniversary of her death.
Maia Olivia Baum (pictured left) lost her battle with a rare condition in 2016 just before her first birthday. In the months before, her mum and dad, Gemma and Joe, made sure she enjoyed as many experiences as possible, making memories as she went. Those trips came to be known as “the adventures of Maia Mouse” .
Her parents set up the Maia Mouse Foundation, which works with hospices to help to provide grants to families of children with life-limiting conditions so they too can make magic memories.
On May 20, the Maia Mouse Foundation will launch its biggest fundraising challenge to date – Walk the World with Maia Mouse. The aim is for people to walk a combined 50 million steps, covering 25,000 miles. About 1,500 people are needed to take part, each walking about 20 miles to cover the distance, which is slightly more than the world’s equator.
Mr Baum said: “We have been doing a lots of individual fundraising in the past but the idea is to do something great together and get loads of people working as one. Wednesday is the anniversary of Maia’s passing and that’s a very meaningful day to launch the challenge. We didn’t really plan it like that – it just seemed to fall on that date. This is about the charity and Maia’s legacy.”
The Baum family have since moved away from the dale and now live in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, but still have strong family connections in Barnard Castle and West Auckland. Their charity helps hospices across the county – from West Yorkshire to London – and is planning to link up with Butterwick Children’s Hospice, in Stockton.
The couple, who now have two children – George, 3, and Olivia, 1 – are asking people across the country to join in the challenge, each choosing their own route as part of their daily exercise and contributing their steps to the total.
The charity’s website will host a map of the world, showing the combined progress.
People are being asked to raise £1 for each mile, through sponsorship or donations, and it is hoped the target will be reached by the end of June. People are reminded to follow the government’s social distancing guidelines.
Mrs Baum said: “We recognise this is a monumental task, so that’s why we need this sharing far and wide to get people involved. The more money we raise the more children that we can support and the more memories that can be made.”
The charity has raised £130,000 so far and three of its five trustees are from Barnard Castle.
Examples of feedback from families helped include: “I’d just like to say thank you for the grant for Ariana Grande tickets, I’ve finally let the cat out of the bag this morning. We have one very excited teenager in the house.” Another family wrote: “My daughter has two rare syndromes and a lot of health complications that come with it. We have decided to have a weekend break at Butlins – the children are very excited.”
Visit www.maiamousefoundation.org.uk or the Facebook page @maiamousefoundation for more information about getting involved.
