Our Fundraisers
A massive thank you to our lovely friend Warrington Wolves captain Stefan Ratchford for an amazing £1,000 donation from his testimonial year. Stef first met Jack’s dad, Andy, in the early part of his career at Salford Red Devils and has supported Joining Jack ever since with countless JJ salutes on the field and support off it. A well respected and admired Super League player, Stef chose Joining Jack as one of four charities to support during a year of fundraising.
A huge thank you to Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont who at a dinner marking the start of his testimonial dinner pledged to donate £1,000 for every try which our JJ ambassador Josh Charnley scored for the Leopards. The flying winger bagged 24 throughout the season which was split between Team JJ and two other charities.
Huge thanks to Backes & Strauss London for their amazing support with a fantastic specially crafted one-of-a-kind charity watch to be auctioned at the @WatchPro Salon 2024 in November.
Another very big thank you today to our lovely friends from Develop UK who hosted their annual golf day at Manchester Golf Club and raised an amazing £4,320! It was a fantastic day attended by our co-founders and Jacks parents, Alex and Andy along with some familiar faces including JJ and Rugby league Legends Kevin Brown, Ryan Atkins, Gary Connolly and Paul Sculthorpe. Jonathan Peter Whitworth MD of Develop UK and a trustee at Joining Jack along with his team have been a support to Joining Jack for many years.
An incredible £65,307 was raised at the Cambria Autos opening of the new Edinburgh dealership. We'd like a massive thank you to the team for choosing Joining Jack as one of two charities to benefit, the team have supported Team JJ for a number of years though our events and fundraising.
A Super shoutout to Keith Rounding and the Seniors Section at Meole Brace Golf Club with a JJ salute at the Captain's Day competition as part of their fundraising for Joining Jack
A big shoutout to all of the performers and behind the scenes team at @Tina's Dance Studio who took part in the recent show at Albert Halls Bolton and raised an amazing £1383!
The team chose Joining Jack inspired by Director and Principal Tina Jameson.
She told us: 'My cousin Andrew, from Lowton, was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of four. It was a huge shock to the family, to have a seemingly healthy bouncing little boy suffering from this muscle-wasting disease.
'Andrew’s family were extremely close and he received fabulous support from the community. They set up the Andrew Murray Lourdes Fund, which was the charity I championed during my very first dance school show back in 1992. Since then we have looked to support any organisation that made a real difference to Andrew’s life.'
Massive thanks and many happy returns to the lovely Audrey Peers who celebrated a 'special' birthday and asked for friends and family to make donations to Joining Jack - rather than buying presents. Audrey, a lifelong Wigan Warriors fan moved away from the area over 50 years ago but has maintained her Lancashire roots - evident with her red rose of Lancashire birthday cake. Combined donations from family and friends gathering in Derby to celebrate Audrey's 90th birthday raised a fantastic £300 for Joining Jack.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended sponsored and supported a very special Valentine’s Ball we are thrilled to announce this incredible evening raised a huge £88,088! Organised by sister and JJ supporters Kate Whitworth and Georgina Macauley, this incredible total will help to fund vital medical research, you are all helping to make a huge difference for everyone with Duchenne!
Huge thank you and to Grand Arcade Shopping Centre, Wigan who have chosen Joining Jack as their Charity of the Year. The team invited Jack down to officially open the arcade's Woodland Fun Hub and Team JJ also attended the centre's Dinosaur Day at the start of the holidays to sign up a very excited T-Rex for the HW Moon Toyota Wigan 10th Wigan 10k.
A huge well done to the players and families and supporters from Wigan St Judes ARLFC Under 7s who staged their very own Wigan Family Mile! The squad had signed up to take part in the 10th HW Moon Toyota Wigan 10k Family Mile Race for Joining Jack, but after a last minute fixture change, were unable to attend on the day. The 10k team were contacted by Team Coach, Craig Horrigan, with a request for the players to complete a Virtual Run and claim the all-important bling! Of course we said yes. Coach Craig even managed to persuade a few extra family members from the team to take part with a total of 29 completing the mile run on the day!
Our fab friend and JJ legend Stephen Wild staged a six-hour bootcamp at his Gym Mind Body Health with fellow JJ and Wigan Warriors legends Sean O’Loughlin, Mick Cassidy & Steve Hampson. The trio led each team to push themselves to win the challenge at the same time as raisng a fantastic £1224.32.
Huge well done to Abbey Carter completing the 2022 Great North Run and with matched sponsorship, raising £862 for Team JJ. Joining Jack supporters will know Abbey as one of our dynamic duo Broom Wagon drivers from the Develop UK Wigan Bike Ride and as a regular at the HW Moon Toyota Wigan Run Wigan Festival Wigan 10k.
Charity of the Year Fletchers Solicitors
Fletchers Legal in Southport raised a terrific £2,000 for Joining Jack after choosing Team JJ as one of their Charities of the Year, with colleagues raising money through monthly donations and fundraising activities.
“I'm Proud to work for a such a charitable company. Thanks to Homes for Students for topping up my sponsorship for the Manchester Marathon which we ran in April. All for the wonderful charity Joining Jack...Thanks to everyone who supported me in smashing my target for Jack”
Simon Roddam Ironman 2022
I'm Si Roddam, a 38 year old father/husband from Wigan. I
have dabbled in endurance sports for a while, from sprint triathlons up to
half ironman distance, but in 2022 I will be meeting face to face with the
toughest one of them all....Ironman UK! For those who don't know, the
Ironman Triathlon is made up of a 2.4 mile swim, then 112 miles on the bike,
with a marathon to run at the end. A total of 140.6 miles covered during the
race.
It will take a lot of grit and determination to reach the
finish line, and months of training before that! So please dig deep and make
a donation toward my efforts and support the Joining Jack Charity. As a
father of two young children (Eva & Henry) I couldn't even begin to imagine
what it feels like for your child to be diagnosed with a life threatening
illness like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). It is without doubt a
horrible situation and therefore I proudly dedicate my Ironman Triathlon
effort to the young Jack Johnson who is currently living with DMD and
through his charity Joining Jack, trying to find a cure.
Ellie Turner Skydive 2022
Growing up, I have followed Rugby League and been a season ticket holder for Wigan Warriors for many years. Throughout this time, an ambition of mine has been to complete a skydive, so, this year I am going to take the plunge in June and complete a 15,000ft skydive over Grange-Over-Sands. I am completing this dive to support the rugby league community and fulfil my ambition. I am hoping to raise money for two very worthwhile causes Joining Jack and MND, in support of Rob Burrow. I will be self-funding my skydive so ALL money donated will be split equally between these two charities.
https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/ellies-skydiving-challenge
Max Hallsall Wigan Bike Ride 2022
Magnificent Max Hallsall too on the 5 Mile Family Ride at this year's Wigan Bike Ride alongside his granddad.
Chloe Seddon Wigan Bike Ride 2022
11-year-old Chloe Seddon completed the 5 Mile Family Ride at this year's 6th Wigan Bike Ride raising £55 for Team JJ
Team JJ Manchester Marathon 2022
Our Fab Four runners, Michelle Charnock, Sean Fletcher, Lucy Swanson and Ben Thomas, completed a gruelling 26.2 miles in the 2022 Manchester Marathon
Wigan Bike Ride 2022
We are thrilled to be able to once again stage Joining Jack's flagship event, and can't wait to see our fantastic supporters taking on the Hardcore or Highway 50 mile Wigan Bike Ride supporting Team JJ to help end Duchenne
JJY3P 2022
A terrific team of 25 intrepid explorers took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, Pen y ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside in May at the return of the JJY3 Peaks challenge
In memory of Andy
Members of Leigh Golf Club held a karaoke evening to
celebrate the life of Vice Captain and former Wigan Warriors and Leigh
Centurions favourite Andy Collier, and raised an incredible
£1,600.
Andy died of COVID at the start of the pandemic last year and
his family and friends had already held a fundraising evening and took part
in our 13 for 13 event in his name to support Team JJ.
Joining Jack
was close to his heart through his wife, Carol
Sean Fletcher - Tour of Merseyside & Berlin Marathon
Saturday is the final leg of my 52 mile Tour of Merseyside. Just a little 12 mile run along the beach to go it's been a good week and a nice kickstart to my Berlin marathon training