Volunteer plea for Moonlight Walk

The ladies-only sponsored walk starts and ends at the University of Derby and relies on up to 100 volunteer marshals based across the 5k and 10k routes to keep walkers on the right track and ensure their safety.

Derbyshire-based Treetops provides nursing care and emotional support for adults and their families in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Its Hospice at Home service has more than 50 qualified nurses and health care assistants trained and experienced in caring for people who have palliative care needs and can offer carers respite during the day and night.

Micky Dallard has been a volunteer marshal at the event for several years. He supports his wife, relatives and friends as they walk as ‘Ann’s Angels’ in memory of his mother-in-law, who received Treetops’ Hospice at Home care in 2012.

Micky is urging others to join him helping out on the route. He said: “Treetops is an amazing charity and were there when we needed it most.

“Every year, as soon as the date of the Walk is announced, we all sign up straight away.

“Marshaling on the night is so rewarding – we help those who are putting themselves out walking through the night and raising money at the same time. It’s great fun as well.

“We have a small team of us who usually dress up and as the last few walkers pass by, we join the end of the walk too. We can all help as husbands, partners, relatives and friends just as much as the women walking and the event couldn’t happen without us.”

The Moonlight Walk starts at 10pm on June 17, to coincide with Treetops’ Hospice at Home nurses starting their shifts.

The walk should finish at approximately 1am on Saturday, June 18, and volunteer marshals will be stationed along the walk route which goes down Kedleston Road, over the Market Place and towards Allestree and back.

Those interested in volunteering as a marshal or taking part in the walk can register online at www.treetopshospice.org.uk/moonlight or call the fundraising team on 0115 9491264.