Artist Luke Horton to take on England’s highest mountain to raise funds for Jessop’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Local artist Luke Horton is setting out to complete a charity hike to the summit of England’s tallest mountain Scafell Pike to raise funds for Sheffield Hospitals Charity.
Funds raised will go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), at Jessop Maternity Wing in Sheffield. The unit provides neonatal intensive care and special care for sick and premature babies born in Sheffield and those transferred from other units who need their expertise.
Luke’s daughter Elodie was born in Oct 2024. She spent the first five days her life in intensive care before moving into special care on the unit.
Luke Horton said:
“I’m really excited about our mission to raise funds for Sheffield Hospitals Charity. We chose the charity to give back to the NICU at Jessop’s where our daughter Elodie received exceptional care immediately after her birth.
Both my partner and I relied heavily on the NICU team during the early days of Elodie’s life and we are forever grateful for the support and care they provided. Elodie couldn’t breathe sufficiently on her own and we felt helpless. We never expected that she would need this kind of care and now we want to give back.
I’m really going for it and want to get 60 people to join me on the hike! For anyone who loves hiking, is up for an adventure and giving something back, they can sign up through my website.
Every donation, no matter how big or small, will go a long way in supporting the brilliant work they do in helping families like us.”
Luke is hoping to raise a total of £20,000 for the Neonatal Unit.
Freya Kingswood, Events and Fundraising Manager at Sheffield Hospitals Charity said:
“We are extremely grateful to Luke and his partner for sharing their personal journey with us and choosing to give back.
Through incredible fundraising efforts like this hike, we can continue to support NICU with things like family accommodation so new parents can be near their poorly baby, providing round the clock refreshments for families, funding a family care nurse to give vital support and parent packs with some much-needed essentials.
It’s amazing that Luke is looking for 60 other people to join him on the Scafell Hike Pike who will come together to make such a difference.”
Anyone wanting to take part in the Scafell Pike Charity Hike can visit Luke's website.
Donations can be made via Luke’s JustGiving page.
Published: Monday 3rd of March 2025