Alan Shearer visits Morpeth man after impressive £2775 charity fundraising efforts
A man from Morpeth celebrated the final steps of a fundraising challenge with a very special visitor to his home.
Keith Dungait was watched by Newcastle United’s all-time record goalscorer Alan Shearer as he completed the final part of his fundraising efforts for the Alan Shearer Foundation.
Keith, a former rugby player, suffered a life-changing accident in 2018 which left him with severe spinal cord injuries and left him paralysed from the waist down.
Despite fears he would never walk again, Keith has worked tirelessly to get back on his feet.
To show off his progress - and raise money for a new hydropool at the Alan Shearer Foundation Keith took on a challenge inspired by the Foundation’s Move a Mile campaign.
He walked 2,775 steps - a number he estimated would be a mile – to raise money for the charity at £1 per step.
To mark Keith’s achievement, Shearer called at his home personally to collect the cheque.
Keith documented his walk around the house and garden on Instagram – which caught the attention of the Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer.
Shearer said: “It’s incredible. I saw it on Instagram and thought ‘wow’.
“For Keith to take part after what he has been through and is still going through and the commitment to not only do it, but to do it every day for four or five weeks was just fantastic.
“Keith has raised almost £3,000 for us, which is just amazing.”
Keith’s sons Ronnie, 16, and Macauley, 13, couldn’t believe their sporting hero was standing in their kitchen.
Keith says the drive to push himself and raise money for a good cause was the biggest factor in not just setting the challenge, but completing it.
He said: “I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it, but coming from a rugby background, I knew that I’d give it a good go.
“When Alan Shearer walks into your kitchen, it’s surreal. He’s a legend.
“When I set out I thought ‘if he sees this on Instagram, that would be good’ and, all of a sudden, he’s here in my kitchen!”
Move a Mile is a fundraising challenge inviting everyone to move one mile and help the Alan Shearer Foundation raise £1m to build a second hydrotherapy pool at the Alan Shearer Centre.
It is needed because
Shearer says fundraising efforts like Keith’s are helping the charity total tick closer to that goal, and the generosity of those donating their time, effort and money to the cause hasn’t gone unnoticed.
He said: “A thank you to those raising cash does not seem enough.
"Me beating the drum on fundraising is difficult because things aren’t easy for lots of families at the moment and asking people to donate £5 is a lot.
"I understand that, but when you get to the centre you realise how much it means to someone with a disability – and for us to be able to give them help for free.”
For details of the Move a Mile fundraiser, go to https://www.alanshearerfoundation.org.uk/the-million-pound-mission/move-a-mile/