Dan’s silence was truly golden
Daniel from Watson Moore held a 24-hour sponsored silence in an effort to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).
That’s right, at 12 midday on Thursday 27th June, Dan stopped speaking and didn’t utter another word until 12 midday the following day.
“I was raising money for MNDA as it is a cause that is close to my heart. I have first-hand experience in just how difficult and upsetting it is when a loved one suffers from MND. My grandmother was diagnosed in 2014 and sadly passed away the following year,” explains Daniel, “There is no cure for Motor Neurone Disease and so the MNDA help support those who suffer from the disease, as well as their families and loved ones. MNDA also fund research in the hopes of one day finding a cure”.
When asked how Dan faced the challenge of not speaking for 24 hours, Dan explained “I always knew it was going to be difficult. There were moments when I was very frustrated; trying to get a particular point across and knowing that it would take me mere seconds to do so if I could speak, but instead I was looking at confused faces and hearing people say they didn’t understand. But I stuck to it and used some mime, signing, a pen and paper and a text-to-speech app to communicate.”
“There were a few funny moments during my silence too. From a lady on the street who tried to stop me and ask for directions (in the end she asked someone else) to stopping in a coffee shop and miming at the barista, requesting a Latte, only to be presented with a Large Tea!”
Dan raised a terrific £860 for the MND Association from his silence. When combined with the amount the team raised during our Charity Walk in May 2019, collectively we have raised a total of £1,735 for MNDA this year. If you’d like to read more on ‘Silence Speaks’, the MNDA national campaign for sponsored silences, you can visit the MNDA website <here>.
