Dealmaker Jenkins to walk 110-mile Cleveland Way for Maggie’s cancer charity

The senior partner of Deloitte in Yorkshire and the North East is walking the Cleveland Way through the heather moorlands and stunning coastal scenery in support of Maggie’s.

The national charity wants to create a cancer caring centre at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds. It needs to raise a further £2m to hit its £5m target to start on site in early 2016.

Mr Jenkins said: “I am doing this walk to raise awareness of our campaign for Maggie’s particularly among the business community from whom we will be seeking support and also raising funds through direct sponsorship.

“With the increasing number of people touched by cancer in the region and the fantastic medical support currently provided by the Bexley Wing, a Maggie’s Centre will have a significant and lasting legacy for Yorkshire.”

Mr Jenkins has lived in West Yorkshire for the past 26 years, along with his wife and two children.

Outside of his family, he has a distinct interest in the Yorkshire countryside, one of the main reasons he chose the Cleveland Way walk, which he said “richly deserves its reputation as God’s own county”.

Mr Jenkins begins his walk on June 27. He will be joined for sections by a number of figures from the business community including Andrew Cope, the executive chairman of Huddersfield-based road incident specialist FMG, Laurence Walker, chief executive of Halifax-based insurance technology firm SSP, Garry Wilson and Darren Forshaw, the founding partners of Leeds-based turnaround investor Endless, Ken Beaty, a seasoned private equity chairman, and Neil McLean, the former head of law firm DLA Piper’s office in Leeds.

The Business Editor of The Yorkshire Post, Bernard Ginns, will be walking from Saltburn to Sandsend, a 16-mile section of the route. Colleagues from Deloitte, including former Bradford council chief executive Tony Reeves, will also be taking part.

The seven days walking include 5,561 metres of ascent and 5,554 metres of descent across varying landscapes.

Numerous historic monuments can be seen along the route including Helmsley Castle, Rievaulx Abbey, Mount Grace Priory, Whitby Abbey and Scarborough Castle.

Man’s impact on the landscape is also in evidence with the White Horse of Kilburn and the extensive alum quarries at Boulby and Kettleness, revealing the industrial past of the North York Moors.

Laura Lee, chief executive of Maggie’s, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be supporting Martin with his challenge.

“Everyone at Maggie’s sends the very best of luck and is hugely thankful to Martin.”

The charity submitted plans for the Yorkshire centre earlier this month.

Designed by the acclaimed Heatherwick Studio, founded by Thomas Heatherwick, who masterminded the 2012 Olympic cauldron, the designs feature a series of contained roof gardens.

The building would be erected on land next to the Alma Street multi-storey car park, close to the Institute of Oncology at Bexley Wing to establish a pathway for cancer patients directly to a support facility.

Ms Lee added: “The programme of support that we will be offering at Maggie’s Yorkshire will help to improve the physical and emotional wellbeing of people with cancer across the region.”

To find out how the centre supports people with cancer across Yorkshire, please visit www.maggiescentres.org/yorkshire and to support Mr Jenkins’ fundraising please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Martin-Jenkins6