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Boy With Cerebral Palsy And Autism Completes 26.2 Miles Walk And Raised $119,000 For His School [Video]

Published

4 years ago

June 5, 2020

She Who Makes You Smile

Tobias Weller has cerebral palsy as well as autism and he moves around only with the help of a walker.
But the 9-year-old boy was determined to give back to his school that took care of him.
So he challenged himself in his fundraiser marathon to complete 26.2 miles and he did it while raising $119,000 at the same time!

It was seemingly impossible for Tobias Weller to complete a marathon because he can’t even stand nor walk on his own.

Tobias was born with cerebral palsy and moves around with the help of a walker. Aside from that, he also has autism, and although this is the case, Tobias is full of life and desire to make a difference.

The 9-year-old boy from England attends Paces School that assists and takes care of people with neurological conditions, children or adults. His mom, Ruth Garbutt, said that if not for the school’s support, “Tobias would not have made nearly as much progress as he has done and continues to do so.”

With that, Tobias wanted to give back the support his school has given. He took inspiration from Captain Tom Moore—a 99-year-old veteran who decided to celebrate his birthday with a fundraiser and raised millions of dollars for the NHS. Tobias on the other hand decided he wanted to walk 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) around the local park in their neighborhood. But it didn’t happen because the COVID-19 pandemic happened and lockdown order was in place. So he thought of a better way to do that and he came up with a marathon!

https://www.facebook.com/ruth.garbutt.3/videos/2832252490145317/?t=0

Ruth posted a video of Tobias explaining his desire to raise money for Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Paces School—two of her most favorite charities.

Tobias’ plan was to walk a total of 26.2 miles up and down the streets in their community and although it was a “ginormous” challenge, he did it after 70 days! Little by little everyday, his stamina was increasing as he did his daily walks which started with 164 feet a day only and finished the challenge on May 31 already being able to walk half a mile! The best part of it all was the support of the people that overflowed. He was even nicknamed Captain Tobias—in reference to his inspiration.

“I love it when my neighbors clap and cheer for me. I’m getting stronger and stronger every day. It’s such a good feeling,” Tobias told Sky News.

So far, Tobias has raised $119,000 through the platform JustGiving, which is three times more than his original plan of raising around $37,000. But that’s not all, Tobias’ next goal is to reach 31 miles!