Man walks from Macclesfield to Paris raising £19,000 for North West food banks

A man has completed a 500-mile trek from Macclesfield to Paris raising £19,000 for food bank charities across the North West.

Henry Moores, 21, from Macclesfield trekked 500 miles from his home to Paris, France, to raise money to provide food parcels and gifts for people in need across Cheshire and Manchester this Christmas.

Setting off with an original target of £3,000, Henry raised an incredible £19,000 walking around 22 miles a day for 21 days.

He started his charity trek on Saturday, October 21st, reaching the Eiffel Tower on Friday, November 10th.

Upon reaching the iconic Parisian landmark, Henry said it all felt ‘quite surreal’ and that it still hadn’t ‘sunk in yet’.

“I took on the challenge because there was a sense of achievement that I have always been chasing and also to raise money for great charities,” he said.

Henry took on the trek to raise money for five charities including Silklife Foodbank in Macclesfield, Create Foodbank, Manchester Central Foodbank, Reingage and Age UK.

After just completing the mammoth walk, Henry told ITV News: “I feel pretty worn out. Where my backpack has been across my shoulders is hurting, my feet, my ankles, but I’m happy I’ve finished.

“I can deal with the pain, especially since I’m doing it for such a good cause.”

He continued: “When I was having down moments and I was struggling on the walk, thinking about the reason I started it and the people I’ve helped just pushed me and it really helped me. Just knowing where the money is going really does push you on.

“You can never replicate this feeling until you do something like this, it’s just amazing.”

Henry now hopes to work alongside the food banks using the money he has raised to help create food parcels.

With his initial goal of raising £3,000 he planned to make around 200 food parcels, but with £18,000 he can now make many more to give to those households in need this Christmas.

“I want to highlight behind the scenes and shine some light on the people who do this work year in and year out, and give them some recognition and showcase these great people,” he said.

On the walk, Henry said he felt quite lonely not having his friends and family around and is looking forward to getting back home to the things he has taken for granted, such as warmth and good food.

Henry added: “I would like to thank everyone who was involved and everyone who has donated and shared the fundraiser. Without everybody this would not have been possible.”

You can donate to Henry’s fundraiser by clicking HERE.