Phil Packer MBE to inspire young people as his 2012 mile walk reaches Wrexham

Next Monday (22nd October) sees Phil Packer MBE arrive in Wrexham as he continues an epic 2012 mile walk.

The “BRIT 2012 Challenge” started on 24th January this year and has seen Packer visit every county in England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland including Jersey and Guernsey. The walk itself is named in recognition of a charity founded by Packer himself, the British Inspirational Trust. Over recent months the charity has established support from a range of backers including Jamie Oliver and Eamonn Holmes.

Phil Packer served in Her Majesty’s Forces for 17 years until his service abruptly ended in 2008 after he sustained spinal cord damage and was told he was unlikely to walk again. In a bit to rediscover a sense of self-worth and self-confidence he raised over £1.3million for wounded military personnel over the course of 9 months in 2009. Since that point onwards he has continually challenged himself and has now rowed the English Channel, walked the London Marathon on crutches and has powered up El Capitan; all remarkable achievements given the prognosis just 16 months earlier.

In 2010 Packer reached even greater heights climbing the Three Peaks during 72 hours for Sport Relief. He took to the London Marathon once more, this time completing the course in 26 miles in 26 hours in aid of 26 charities. In the same year he was honoured by Her Majesty the Queen with an MBE.

Embarking on the walk this year marks his bid to build a new centre to transform the lives of young people suffering from depression or contemplating self-harm. He is not raising funds from members of the public, instead he is asking businesses to take one or more of 2012 pledges (either £5k or £10k) to raise the money needed to build the BRIT centre.

On Monday Phil Packer will be speaking to students from Yale College and will be walking between 1 and 2 miles around Wrexham with Yale’s Public Service students. They will be commencing the walk at 2PM so look out for them around the streets of town!

If you would like to learn more about the work of the British Inspirational Trust you can visit their website here or if you’d like to follow Phil’s journey take a look on his updates via Twitter @PhilPacker.