PRESS RELEASE

EMBARGO: 06:00 GMT, 20 January, 2012

Inspirational Brit Phil Packer to walk 2012 epic miles for Britain's youth

Phil Packer MBE is calling on the young people, businesses and the British public to join him as he walks 2012 miles across Great Britain during 2012 to raise £15million to build a Centre of Inspirational Excellence for young people facing  adversity.

The BRIT 2012 Challenge will begin on 24 January when Phil, the founder of the British Inspiration Trust who suffered severe spinal cord damage in 2008 and was told it was highly unlikely he would walk again, will set out on his 2012-mile walk, starting at Chichester College in West Sussex. Over the course of the year he will make his way through locations chosen by young people in every county of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, including Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. On the way, he will meet many of Great Britain's youth who are facing physical and mental adversity, from community groups, schools, colleges and charities who will join Phil at the chosen locations where he will walk.

"The BRIT 2012 Challenge is the biggest I've undertaken and it is meets every principle my charity and I believe in. I'm asking 2012 businesses to pledge their financial support to share the costs to build the BRIT Centre. This means schools, colleges and universities can register for the BRIT 2012 Challenge to simply acknowledge and raise awareness of young people facing adversity by completing their 2012 miles as teams rather than fundraising. As part of the challenge I'm asking the British public to support their chosen charities by registering for the BRIT 2012 Challenge as teams or individuals. The BRIT 2012 Challenge is free to take part in - every penny goes to chosen charities and those charities do not have to pay costs to hold a fundraising event," said Phil.

Given his three-way focus of engaging youth in the challenge, supporting charities and building a centre for inspiration using funding from businesses, Phil's BRIT 2012 Challenge has three distinct parts:

Red – Every school, college & university in Great Britain and Northern Ireland is invited to register for the BRIT 2012 Challenge and complete 2012 miles in 2012 as a team purely to support the youth by acknowledging there are young people who face adversity. 

White – BRIT is asking 2012 businesses to take a £5,000 or £10,000 or Pledge (there are 1,000 of each) to raise the £15million for the BRIT Centre of Inspirational Excellence; the whole workforce can also complete the 2012 miles as a team should they wish.

Blue – Every charity is encouraged to register with BT My Donate so that any member of the public (as an individual or team) can register for the BRIT 2012 Challenge and raise funds for a charity of their choice.

Registration for The BRIT 2012 Challenge is now live, with a free step-by-step guide on the BRIT website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The money raised by the business world will be used to build a unique BRIT Centre of Inspirational Excellence, a nationwide facility in West Sussex that will provide support to help reshape the lives of young people facing adversity and instil self-belief, self-worth and self-confidence. The centre will work closely with charities so they can identify young people who face their darkest times and could benefit from attending a residential course at BRIT. Phil already has more than 50 charity CEOs as BRIT advisors who believe in the need for the centre.

The BRIT 2012 Challenge, and BRIT has the backing of a number of high-profile inspirational figures, including Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE, Ade Adepitan, Sir Richard Branson, Sally Gunnell OBE, Eamonn Holmes, Jamie Oliver MBE and the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards. Fifty inspirational figures have also stepped forward so far to support Phil, each of them dedicating 24 hours of their time at the centre when it is built to help young people overcome their personal challenges. Inspirational figures are invited from every sector of society to step forward and gift 24 hours as BRIT Mentors to just listen, encourage and inspire young people at the centre.

"My work supporting other charities over the last four years and meeting young people facing adversity identified the importance of regaining self-belief, self-confidence and self-worth. The mental and psychological challenges of facing adversity are immense, and meeting positive role models and inspirational figures who are willing to spend time with young people is a stepping stone to overcoming adversity. My vision is for a centre that serves young people and brings charities and their best practice together, helping our youth to decide what they want to achieve in life and how to do it," said Phil. 

"Walking 2012 miles will be an enormous challenge. I want young people to take part in it and to show them that they are not alone. I want to connect them with inspirational figures, sporting teams, businesses and the British public," he said.

"This is about providing a physical legacy for our young people who face their darkest times and in Her Majesty the Queen's Jubilee Year, together with London 2012, I hope that 2012 British businesses show their support of our youth to create the opportunity for a brighter future. I also hope to involve young people throughout the year and encourage teams to help charities within their communities."

Phil will be joined at the start line on 24 January by young people from schools and colleges in the West Sussex area. The challenge will take approximately 300 days and Phil will tackle a region of Great Britain each month. His route is being mapped out by college students and co-ordinated with the Armed Forces. Phil will walk at specific venues rather than on roads to ensure that there is no traffic disruption or burden to the police or local authorities. Phil has personally written to each of the 650 MPs, and is writing to every Lord Lieutenant and County Council Chairman to support him. Phil's visionary approach is to support other charities as well as build the BRIT Centre, and this approach has received the backing of more than 50 charities so far.
"The support from the public to the Armed Forces and to service charities in recent years has been extraordinary. To thank the public for their support and generosity, I am encouraging Armed Forces individuals and teams to participate in the BRIT 2012 Challenge to raise money not only for service charities but also charities in the regions and communities in which they are based. I commend the challenge to everyone and in particular to schools, colleges, universities and youth groups," said General Sir David Richards, the Chief of Defence Staff.
Photography from the launch on 24 January will be available to the media and a separate photocall invitation, to attend the start of the challenge at Chichester College, will be issued.

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Notes to Editors

The BRIT Focus
With a wealth experience gained from listening to young people, BRIT defines 'Young People facing Adversity' as those aged between 16 and 25:

• With a physical or mental disability, or medical condition;
• With injuries including wounded service personnel  
• Young carers & those suffering deprivation

The Government estimates 1 in 17, or 600,000, young people are classed as having a disability in the UK.  BRIT understands that coping with adversity can be devastating. Dealing with the loss of self-esteem, confidence and self-worth can plunge an individual into a dark place from which they do not know where to turn and this is where BRIT hopes to assist so young people can be encouraged to move on to existing programmes such as The Prince's Trust or to try out new skills, recreational activities or sports. 

About Phil Packer MBE
Phil Packer served in Her Majesty's Forces for 17 years and sustained spinal cord damage in February 2008 while serving on operational duty. Subsequently told it was highly unlikely he walk again, Phil has since founded BRIT (the British Inspiration Trust). He rowed the English Channel, walked the London Marathon over 14 days on crutches, and hauled himself up El Capitan completing 4,250 pull-ups in three days, raising £1.3million for wounded military personnel in 2009. Phil received the Pride of Britain Fundraiser of Year Award and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award. In 2010, he climbed the Three Peaks during 72 hours for Sport Relief, before smashing his time in the London Marathon by completing the 26 miles in 26 hours for 26 charities, accompanied on each mile by a young person from each charity. He received the MBE (military) in 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the armed forces, prior to his retirement in March 2010.