Heather and Philip took part in the #HDMove fundraising challenge to support their friend who is impacted by Huntington's disease.
It felt almost meaningless to keep saying how sorry we were, so we wanted to do the only thing we can to spread awareness and help our friend. The idea of getting out and moving around in the greyest and most indoor month of the year was the cherry on top.
The #HDMove fundraising challenge runs from 1 Jan until 31 of Jan each year. The challenge consists of 31 mins of movement every day.
Heather and her partner Philip wanted to take on a fundraising challenge to support Heather’s best friend, Georgia, who was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease last year. Georgia’s mum has been living with Huntington’s for a number of years, and after careful consideration, decided to find out if she also carried the gene.
Both Heather and Philip were looking for a way to spread awareness of Huntington’s disease and also raise funds. They discovered #HDMove after their friend, Georgia, had shared the social media post advertising the challenge.
We decided we would document our #HDMove challenge through social media videos on Instagram and TikTok. We tried to make them as varied as possible, ranging from strolls, trampolining, running, ping pong, football, Just Dance and more.
The Huntington’s Disease Association fundraising team helped them get everything set up for their fundraiser and offered encouragement every step of the way. The team helped maximise the reach and impact of their fundraising efforts by sharing their video updates to ensure they felt supported from start to finish.
Everyone was really helpful along the way. We got t-shirts, encouraging emails and a certificate at the end telling us how much we’d raised! Seeing the videos we’d made for our friend being shared with an audience we never expected to reach was a really special moment.
Georgia and her mum have been directly supported by the Huntington's Disease Association and no longer feel like they are facing this disease alone. They have benefitted from the charity's helpline, website and social media for advice, support and the connection to the Huntington's community.
Heather and Philip have contributed to funding the support that Georgia, her mum, and many others like them have received from the charity.
I feel so supported and so safe having the Huntington's Disease Association on hand whenever I need. I am so unbelievably thankful to Heather and Philip who have supported me throughout my journey and then went even further and managed to raise such a huge amount of money for the Huntington's Disease Association. - Georgia
#HDMove challenge top tip
Philip says: "Keep it fun! That’s definitely what helped me through making 31 videos in 31 days, the variation is key. Videos are not essential, just fun!"
#HDMove
Has Heather and Philip's fundraising story left you feeling inspired? You can start your New Year with a pledge to get moving for Huntington’s disease in January.
You can do any activity you like as long as you move your body for 31 minutes for the 31 days in January. You can choose to do the same activity every day or you might decide to do a different one each day or even each week.