A man is set to take on a unique fundraiser, showcasing his strength in support of a York charity.
Strongman Stuart Lambert, from Market Weighton, is raising money for St Leonard’s Hospice through a charity ‘skip lift’, an event where he invites people to pile their unwanted items into the skip until it gets too heavy for him to lift.
Stuart has been involved in many community events since taking up strongman training five years ago. He’s lifted cars, pulled lorries, and wheeled 17 people at once.
Alongside his full-time job, Stuart competes in strongman competitions and regularly appears at events and exhibitions, both for fun and in support of good causes.
His first discovered the sport after losing motivation with his regular gym routine, “I got bored of just normal gym work and wanted to do something a bit different,” he said.
“This seemed to give me a lot more motivation than just going to the gym and lifting dumbbells.”
After attending an amateur strongman competition, he was encouraged by other competitors to give it a try.
“They asked me to go and train with them, so I did and I found I was quite good at it. I chucked myself into the competition three months later and ended up winning, and it’s kind of gone from there,” Stuart told YorkMix.
In his latest challenge, the skip lift, Stuart hopes to raise as much money as possible for St Leonard’s Hospice.
The skip is located at his self-storage business in Market Weighton, and he began accepting donations last week.
He’s welcoming items that can be donated to a charity shop, such as clothes, furniture, books, and toys. Each donation will be sold St Leonards charity shop.
He’s also launched a JustGiving page for those who’d prefer to contribute financially.
Stuart told YorkMix how the idea for the skip lift came about, “I’m doing a skip lift for East Yorkshire day. I’m going to fill it with people, and see how many people I can lift.
“And I thought, I need to train for this but what am I going to use for weights?”
The idea to use donated charity shop items as training weights then struck, “I thought it’s raising money for a good cause, and it’s training. A win win.”
Stuart chose to support St Leonard’s Hospice as it’s a local charity, and he knows a few of the volunteers there.
“It’s a local charity to me, I knew what they did and I thought, that’s a really good cause,” he told YorkMix.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “We’re so grateful to Stuart for coming up with such an extraordinary fundraising idea in our 40th year. Our community never ceases to amaze us with their commitment, and this is no exception, we believe it’s a first!
“Lifting a heavy skip to raise funds is no small feat, and Stuart’s efforts will make a real difference. We rely on the generosity of people like Stuart to help us continue our compassionate care, and initiatives like this raise vital funds and awareness.”
St Leonard’s Hospice provides specialist care and support to people living with terminal or life-limiting illnesses.
While their services are free to patients, they rely heavily on donations.
They receive approximately 25% of funding from the NHS, and therefore have to raise over £6 million a year to continue its work.
To support Stuart’s fundraiser, visit his JustGiving page, or follow him on Instagram for updates.