Tim's still carrying Olympic torch to raise money for Dorchester hospice (From Dorset Echo)

Tim's still carrying Olympic torch to raise money for Dorchester hospice

1:00pm Friday 21st September 2012 in News By Rachel Stretton

A TORCHBEARER took on an Olympic challenge to raise money and ‘inspire a generation’.

Tim Ellis, who carried the torch through Poundbury in July, has since toured schools, clubs, and kayaking venues so people can have their picture taken with the Torch in return for donations.

Mr Ellis, a part-time lecturer at Weymouth College, said: “It actually started straight after I carried the Torch, when I took it round to the Joseph Weld Hospice so that patients and staff could see it.”

The challenge is part of the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust’s Go for Gold campaign, which has been running throughout the summer.

Money raised by people who have taken part in the fundraising drive, which is backed by the Dorset Echo, will go towards helping the charity take more of its services into more homes.

After raising several thousand pounds in an epic endurance event from Marble Arch in London to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris earlier in the year, Mr Ellis decided to top up the amount with the Torch Tour.

He said: “I lost my mum to cancer in 2010 and I also lost a couple of good colleagues I knew through work. They had their last days at the Joseph Weld hospice in Dorchester .

“They are committed to making people’s lives as humane as possible in the last few days. Being around people who have gone through that, you realise how important it is to support the charity.”

He added: “One of the mental tricks I use when endurance races get tough is to dip into the pain and discomfort. Cancer sufferers endure that for weeks and months. I only have to do it for a short time.”