Mark is a supporter of local and national charities and is keen to use his profile to help raise awareness of their work. In previous ambassador roles he has helped Reach for a Star to raise funds, donate telescopes and medical support equipment to children with critical illnesses.
He was an ambassador for Barnardo’s Children’s Charity where he helped promote awareness of their work and helped to raise funds through an Arctic trek with Helen Fospero and climbed Mount Kinabalu in Borneo with Helen, Sam Thompson, James Dunmore and Lydia Bright.
In 2021 Mark performed a marathon lecture at the University of East Anglia raising over £15,000 for Barnardo’s and raising the imporance of sleep to thousands of people that tuned in to watch.
Recognising the importance of science in education Mark is an enthusiastic supporter and ambassador for the Youth STEMM Awards. It’s the STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) equivalent of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, something Mark would have loved to have available when he was young. To show his support and dedication to the award, Mark has completed his GOLD level award which was awarded after his marathon lecture in September 2021.
The first Norwich Science Festival took place in 2016. Since then, Mark has been a strong advocate for this, his local science festival. Norwich has a number of science research organisation and institutions and its fabulous to see them all coming together to share the work that they are doing. It’s not just professional research establishments though, community groups, schools, companies and charities all work together to make the festival one of the best in the country.
Mark has been a patron of the festival since day one and each year he is always there to support by putting on a show or two.
During Mark’s marathon lecture in 2021 he partnered with sleep scientists around the World to explore the impact of sleep. deprivation. He has since become fascinated with the importance of sleep and wants to spread the word. To that end he has become a patron of the UK’s Sleep Charity, has hosted a podcast for them and has often spoken with schools and public groups about his experience and the importance of sleep.
