Captain Tom Moore has been through a lot during his 99 years on this planet. The World War II veteran should be enjoying his twilight years, but instead, he’s spending his spare time doing laps around his back garden in order to raise money for Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) and boy, is he doing that!
- So far, he’s raised nearly $16 million! While Captain Tom Moore’s initial goal was to raise £1,000 (about $1,250), after word got out about his incredible journey to completing 100 laps around his garden at a pace of 10 laps a day, donations started pouring in via his JustGiving page. At the time of writing, he has raised a whopping £13,262,232.76 ($16,569,090.93) for the NHS.
- All the proceeds are going to NHS Charities Together. Captain Moore was inspired to raise money “for our brave nurses and doctors” who put their lives on the line on a daily basis to care for those who are suffering, and his gesture has inspired so many others to chip in as well. At this point, the NHS is really going to get some much-needed help, all thanks to Tom!
- He’s already completed his goal. On Thursday morning, April 16, Captain Moore completed the final 10 laps of his garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, each of which was 25 meters (82 feet). He celebrated his victory on UK morning shows BBC Breakfast and Good Morning Britain so the nation could share in on his accomplishments. I bet the NHS workers he’s helping were watching too!
- You can send Captain Moore a card for his birthday! While his 100th birthday party had to be canceled due to the current global health crisis, BBC Breakfast did share an address where Captain Moore’s fans all around the world can send him birthday cards to celebrate with him from afar.
- If you want to donate to the NHS, Captain Moore’s fundraising is still happening. You can donate via his JustGiving page. The numbers keep on rising, and there’s never been a more important cause, so if you can spare anything, go for it!
