Year of 60 challenges for charity fund-raiser Sue

Sue Wood marked her 60th birthday by accepting 60 challenges - all to be completed before she turns 61 - ranging from simple tasks such as do more dancing, to adrenaline-inducing challenges such as doing a zip wire across Snowdonia.

Other news: Restaurant and bar plans for The BeechesSue, from Bamfurlong, said the idea came about after she asked people to give to charity instead of buying her gifts for her birthday.

“I thought, I have food in my cupboards, I have shoes on my feet - what more do I need?” said Sue, who turned 60 earlier this month.

“My two sons wanted to organise a party. My own mum died suddenly at 51, so turning 60 is a bit of an achievement for me.

“I said I didn’t want a party, so they said ‘why don’t we do something for charity?’”

Instead of cards and presents, Sue asked her friends and family to “do some good”.

She said: “For the price of a pint, you could donate to charity. That would be a really kind thing to do.”

Her request was met with rapturous response, and everyone who went to the party raised an incredible £1,040, to be split between mental health charity Mind and Butterfly Space - a community development project based in Malawi.

As part of the night, Sue and her sons Chris and Phil asked the generous attendees to suggest a list of 60 challenges. Hundreds of ideas were floated about, which Sue whittled down to 60, and agreed to do through the year to say thank you for the charitable donations.

Tasks included: Have a party, dance more, get a tattoo, ride a horse, and learn how to say ‘thank you’ and ‘hello’ in at least 10 different languages.

Despite her epic fund-raising plans, Sue, who is a patrol manager at Platt Bridge Community School, remained humble, saying: “I’m just a normal person, who is lucky to have generous friends who help to donate.”

You can keep track of Sue’s adventures, visit instagram.com/challengesue. To sponsor Sue’s year of fund-raising, visit be.wonderful.org/susanw/2018/challengesue.