Fearless Fred, a host for 102.1 the Edge, tested his physical strength and stamina by committing to walking for 24 hours straight to raise money in support of Children’s Wish on May 24.
Fred began walking on the treadmill in the Edge studio at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 24 and will end his 24-hour journey on Friday, May 25 at 2 p.m.
He hosted his show live from the treadmill and a 24-hour Facebook Live feed captured his every step for the important cause.
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Throughout the 24 hours, listeners of 102.1 the Edge were encouraged to text to donate to the charity, which raises money to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illness.
Children’s Wish is the largest, all-Canadian wish-granting charity. Since the charity began granting wishes in 1984, no eligible child’s wish has ever been denied.
Children’s Wish grants wishes to Canadian children between the ages of 3 and 17 who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The charity has granted wishes to more than 25,000 children and their families.
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Global News spoke to Fred 20 hours into his walk.
Global News: How are you feeling?
Fearless Fred: Tired, but good, cognisant and self-aware so that’s good.
Global News: What made you decide to commit to walking for 24 hours straight?
Fearless Fred: I thought it was a really good way to get attention to Children’s Wish because it’s kind of a ridiculous thing to do. When you say “this person’s walking for 24 hours straight” people immediately go “what?” And so it creates recall for the charity which is good. It also gives me the opportunity to be on the treadmill for 24 hours, which is just one of those bucket-list things that a lot of people have.
Global News: What does the charity Children’s Wish mean to you?
Fearless Fred: I’m a parent too and I got involved with them a few years ago during the exile island heroes challenge. I saw the work that they did and I saw the impact it has on families and children that are sick and dealing with some pretty scary situations and I immediately went “these guys do good work.” And any bit of cynicism that I had, because we all got a bit of cynicism these days, once I saw first hand the impact that these wishes can have on a child and their family, I immediately was like “yeah, that’s for me.”
Global News: How much money do you hope to raise?
Fearless Fred: I think we’re going to raise, by the time we’re done, over $10,000. That’s good because every wish costs $10,000. If we can that much money that means we will be responsible for a kid getting their wish to come true so that’s really cool.
Global News: What has been the most challenging part of the 24-hour walk?
Fearless Fred: The late night, there wasn’t really anybody in the studio other than me and a paramedic. You just lose that energy of other people being in the room. But once people started showing up for work this morning all that really changed and it was a lot easier to keep going.
Global News: You only have a couple hours left. Would you commit to something like this again for charity?
Fearless Fred: I hope we do it again next year. It’s been a pretty good time.
Throughout the 24 hours, you’ll be able to make a donation online to Children’s Wish Foundation . You can also make a donation by texting FEARLESS to 45678.