He's done it! Sheffield's 'Captain Tobias' raises £100,000 for city charities

‘Captain Tobias’ as he has become known in honour of inspirational WWII veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, reached the total late last night four days after completing the 26.2-mile distance on the streets outside his Beauchief home.

The nine-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and autism and walks with a frame, finished the feat on Sunday cheered on my family, friends and neighbours - but since then the money has kept pouring in.

From having raised £30,000 just a week ago, the total went into overdrive on Sunday as his story was featured on Sky News and was picked up by newspapers as far away as New York.

The money has been raised from almost 5,000 individual donations, ranging in size from £2 to one massive donation, given by an anonymous donor called simply ‘Spock’, of £1,000.

The final donation that put him over the £100,000 total came from Stephen Naylor who said: “Tobias. You’ve reached £100,000! What an AMAZING achievement.”

Tobias’ mum Ruth said the first target they set when he started his walk way back in March was to raise just £500.

After a few messages on What’s App brought in £250 straight away, they increased the target, first to £1,000 and £2,000, then £5,000 and £10,000, before an appeal in the Star helped them surpass £20,000.

An appearance on This Morning took them to more than £40,000 by the end of last week, and the coverage on the day he completed the marathon last Sunday saw it skyrocket even further to an astonishing £70,000.

Ruth said she never imagined Tobias would raise as much money as he had.

She said: “We are absolutely delighted and a little overwhelmed with the amount of money that has been raised.

“The support Tobias has received both nationally and internationally will help so many children at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Paces School.”

As well as raising money for the two charities, Ruth said she has seen ‘significant’ changes in Tobias in the 70-plus days it took him to complete his ‘ginormous journey’.

“When he started he could only walk 50 metres but now he is doing 750 metres and can chat while he is doing it,” she said.

“It has changed how he uses the walker which was more about exercise before but has now become more functional for actually doing things.

“There has also been a change in his attitude to the walker. He is very positive and wants to get stronger. He was out again this morning and got an escort from two police horses.

“And his confidence in talking to people has improved - in front of a camera he just lights up.”

Ruth also paid tribute to the people of the neighbourhood, who have supported Tobias every step of the way, and hinted that there might be more challenges to come.

“Last night when the total was reached lots of people on the street were out to celebrate and almost everyone came out again this morning,” she said.

“Tobias is planning to do another challenge but we can’t really say anything yet. He is really up for raising as much money as he can.”

On Friday, the daughter of 100-year-old Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised £32m for the NHS by walking with a frame in his Bedfordshire garden, sent a message to Tobias.

Hannah Ingram-Moore said: “Well good morning Captain Tobias. On behalf of Captain Sir Tom Moore and the entire family, wow - well done. What an achievement. We are so, so proud of you. Have a lovely day.”

The money Tobias has raised will go to Sheffield Children’s Hospital’s charity and Paces School in High Green, with the cash being equally divided between the two.

Discussions are ongoing between Tobias and the two charities but both are keen for the money to be used to create a lasting legacy for the youngster’s efforts.

David Vernon-Edwards, Director of The Children's Hospital Charity added: “‘Captain Tobias’ remarkable determination and effort in completing his lockdown marathon has touched the hearts and inspired people not only in Sheffield, but across the country and around the world.

"We're very proud of him and all the staff at Sheffield Children's, whose excellent care helps children like Tobias to pursue their dreams every day.

“The £100,000 raised for Paces School and the hospital is a phenomenal achievement and we're so thankful to everyone who has supported the effort so far. It will be a huge boost to our efforts to change the lives of generations of young patients to come."

And Julie Booth, head of fundraising for Paces, said everyone at the school was ‘incredibly proud’ of him.

She said: “His strength and determination to complete a marathon is an inspiration to us all.

“Paces share of the funds will be used towards our recently launched capital appeal to raise £3.5 million to build a new school and centre which will allow is to support up to three times as many children and adults.

“We are delighted that Tobias has chosen to support our charity with this and we simply can’t thank him enough!”

Tobias has vowed to continue his daily walks and his fundraising. To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ruth-garbutt-3.