Ken O’Leary who has been nominated for the Pride of Britain regional fundraiser award.
It’s Pride Of Britain Regional Fundraiser week on ITV and last week they featured our Ambassador, Ken O’Leary who has been nominated for the Regional Fundraiser Award. We are very proud of Ken and delighted he has been nominated for this Award.
Ken and Nicola Plummer have three sons their eldest, Ethan, is 21 in March 2025, Ashton, is 19, and Max is 17. When Max was two, he was diagnosed with Leukaemia and had three years of treatment. Since then, Ken, now one of our Ambassadors, has raised over £150,000 for charities, including Latch, through marathons and physical challenges around the world. This year, Ken, aged 50 ran the Boston marathon and will be running both Cape Town and Boston (again) next year.
Ken says “Community fundraising is really where my heart is. The world majors get the headlines, but the work I do locally, raising funds within the community, helping people come together, that’s where I put the most energy. That’s what really matters to me.”
“It felt surreal when I got a phone call from Nicola telling me that Max had Leukaemia. I was looking after our son Ashton at home and got quite upset. You don’t expect that kind of phone call or thing to happen. But it did. A moment like that changes everything.
Without Latch, I can’t foresee how we would have got through that time. They provided financial support, like paying for driving lessons for me. But it was the other support they gave us that surpassed everything. They were like a family in the hospital and, to put it mildly, Latch were a lifeline. I knew they were there if we needed them.
I said to myself: ‘I’ve got to pay Latch back.’ And that’s been my aim to this day with the fundraising that I have done for them.
My perception on life changed when Max was diagnosed. Running helped me to cope. When you’re running, you’re out having a conversation with yourself.
I used to have low self-esteem and super low confidence. I didn’t have any aspiration or enjoy being me. I admit that I was quite selfish at times. I had some bad flaws.
I did my first half marathon for Latch when Max was having treatment. I remember feeling emotional when I finished, that I’d accomplished it for Max. I felt proud and thought: ‘I just want to keep doing this.’
Ken O'Leary
Parent, Latch Ambassador and Fundraiser
But since all of this has happened, it’s given me drive to help other families who are going to be in the same position we were. Now, everything I do is for my family and charity. Sometimes you have a lightbulb moment. For me, what happened with Max was that moment.
When Max’s treatment finished I was so relieved and have tried not to take anything for granted. I kind of put what happened to a part of my brain which doesn’t get opened up.
In April 2025, when I turn 50, I am running the Boston marathon. Then I will be one of only six people in Wales to have run the six major marathons in New York, Chicago, Boston, Berlin, London and Tokyo. I want to do the six majors twice. I’d be the only person in Wales to have done that.
I feel humble to have raised around £150,000 for different charities. As well as running, I’ve also done physical challenges, going to base camp at Everest and climbing Kilimanjaro.
It was nice that Latch asked me to be an Ambassador. I think it’s because I have been fundraising for them for so long, after Max’s treatment.
People say to me: ‘Why do you do what you do?’ I don’t normally tell them my story. I prefer to keep my business to myself. But by sharing our story here, perhaps other parents will go on a similar journey to the one I’ve been on. I have had people tell me that they have fundraised because they heard what I’ve done so they wanted to test their own boundaries.
I’ve seen Latch get bigger over the years. In my eyes, the charity should be more mainstream than it is. Out of all the charities I have worked with, Latch is the pinnacle. I’d like to see them on a larger pedestal and I will continue to support them for as long as I physically can.
