‘We can’t just think we’ve saved Zoe’s Place now, that’s it – we need to keep going’

A retired teacher from Woolton, who’s about to go on his seventh fundraising walk for Zoe’s Place in memory of his daughter, says support mustn’t end with the appeal to save the hospice.

Ged Finnegan says it’s vital that efforts don’t stop because Zoe’s Place reached its target of £7.5m to avoid closure in December last year.

He said:

“We can’t just think we’ve saved Zoe’s now, that’s it. We have to keep going with the support, The overheads every year to run it are huge and it’s a charity so they always really need money. 

“I just want to keep raising awareness and if anyone says to me, ‘why are you doing this, Zoe’s is OK isn’t it?’ I’ll explain they constantly need money coming in to keep going.”

Ged did his first 26-mile Kate’s Coastal Walk in 2018, marking the 20^th anniversary of his daughter’s death aged just 13.

He had no direct connection with the hospice, Kate died in Alder Hey Hospital, but he saw it featured on TV.

“I’d started to get out and walk as a way of coping with losing Kate, and it was 20 years since she’d died which seemed like a significant milestone. I saw Zoe’s Place on TV and just identified with this family’s fear that their child was going to die. 

“That’s really where the idea came from for the walk. I mentioned it to a couple of people and decided to do it in March 2018, going from the bull at Otterspool over to Leasowe Lighthouse and back.”

This year’s Kate’s Coastal Walk, on Saturday March 22, will be the seventh – a year had to be missed due to Covid – and Ged is thrilled with how it’s gained momentum.

In 2024, it raised an incredible £26,000 and an extra walk as part of the Save Zoe’s Place campaign added a further £24,000, taking his fundraising over £100,000.

That event, in October, saw supporters gather at the Pier Head, then collect around the city centre before walking to Zoe’s where they were given an emotional welcome by families and staff.

Ged organised it in days after being told about the hospice’s threatened closure and was joined by a Liverpool legend.

He explains:

“John Barnes said he was going to Liverpool ONE with a bucket to see what he could get. He met up with us at Zoe’s and there’d been so many people wanting a photo with him he decided to charge them a £10 donation!

“A friend of his, who wanted to remain anonymous, offered to double everything he got in his bucket, but then the next day he said he’d double whatever we got on the walk. That was about £12,000 so it took us to £24,000 which I was well pleased with.”

This year’s route will see walkers setting off from the bull at 8am heading to the Pier Head, catching a ferry to Seacombe, then walking to New Brighton. They’ll go through New Brighton to Leasowe Lighthouse, back to New Brighton and if they’re on schedule they stay for half hour to have a pint or a coffee before going from the Floral Pavilion to Seacombe to catch the ferry and return to the start point for around 6.30pm.

“The unique thing is it incorporates a ferry ride, not many walks do, it’s a level course and if you haven’t run a marathon this is a chance to walk one. 

“It’s a lovely atmosphere, everyone gets to know each other because there are so many people and you end up talking while you’re walking. We collect in buckets and people get sponsored for doing the 26 miles and then that goes online.”

As the event grows, Ged is determined to keep going – even injuries can’t sideline him.

“This is a life-long commitment for me,” he says. “I get injuries as I get older, but I’ll just carry on to my dying day. I’ve often wondered what I’d do if I couldn’t walk it, but people have said they’d take me in a wheelchair so I’ll just crack on whatever happens.”

You can support the Kate’s Coastal Walk for Zoe’s place here.

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