Yorkshire charity Simon on the Streets is challenging residents, businesses, and families to take on a 20,000 steps-a-day challenge to walk the distance of the homelessness charity’s outreach workers.
Every day the charity’s six outreach workers walk the streets of Leeds, Bradford and Kirklees searching for homeless and vulnerable people, providing them with 1-2-1 emotional and practical support.
Having tracked the distance each outreach worker walks; an average day sees 20,000 steps taken over 10 miles.
The challenge, named ‘Step into Simon’s Shoes’ tasks people to cover the same distance over a day, week, month or year to raise vital funds for the charity to continue its work.
Natalie Moran, CEO of Simon on the Streets says: “On average each one of our dedicated team of outreach workers walk a huge 5.2 million steps every year. We are calling upon the public to take on a day, a week, or a month worth of steps to understand what it takes to step into their shoes.
“The walking is just the start and from finding these vulnerable people, we try and help them achieve whatever it is they would like to achieve, often making efforts to move away from the streets.
“Whilst we’re still in lockdown the challenge allows people to get some vital exercise whilst gaining a closer understanding of just how hard our team works. Whether it is sharing the distance with team or family members or taking it on alone, we hope people will enjoy the challenge and come together to support the charity which relies solely on donations from the public and corporate supporters.”
Leeds resident Jonny Denham has signed up to the challenge with his partner, committing to walk 40,000 each over one weekend.
Jonny comments: "We have been inside so much recently that it is easy to forget that the world is still going on outside our doorsteps and lots of people are still struggling on the streets. We hope that by taking this challenge it will help us to connect with the people who are still out there doing what they can to support the most vulnerable."
To take part, participants simply choose the distance to be completed by walking, running, or cycling the equivalent distance by 17th July 2020.
