Young people fundraise for Lancaster hospice

COLT (City of Lancaster Triathlon) Juniors have taken on their own lockdown challenge by encouraging all their juniors to complete a huge Half Ironman Distance over the month of June - that’s 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking and 13.1 miles of running!

Because swimming can be problematic at the moment the younger COLTs can substitute the 1.2 miles of swimming for any form of exercise involving the numbers 1 and 2 such as 120 star jumps, 12 hours of tennis or 12 hours on a trampoline, etc.

COLT member Katie Shrine said: “We know that charities are struggling and we really wanted to help a local charity. From personal experience I know that St John’s is highly valued by the local community, a close relative of mine passed there and I know that many other people are grateful for their care and kindness.

"As a group we were missing each other and wanted to keep the team spirit going even in lockdown. Hence, we set up this challenge so the COLT Juniors could complete it on their own, yet be part of a bigger effort and keep in contact whilst raising funds for our community hospice.

"Young people aged eight to 16 are taking part including some parents and my own children, who are loving it!”

One Junior COLT enthusiast, Evie Robinso,n has challenged herself to a full Ironman distance over one months - that’s an amazing 2.5 miles swim, 112 miles cycle and 26.22 miles run!

They’re raising funds for a target of £500 and you can support them by going online here.Lancaster print studio Has2BHappy has also been raising money for the hospice. Over the summer the Has2BHappy community of people who are able-bodied, disabled, neuro-typical and atypical are joining together to raise money to support St John's in these difficult times.

Starting on June 1, they set themselves the challenge of covering by foot, wheelchair or bike 520 miles; the equivalent of 20 marathons!

Simon Rudd, a member of the Has2BHappy community, said: “St John’s is well known to our community as so many of us have had a personal connection to the hospice and been grateful for the support they’ve given through sad and sometimes traumatic times.

"Our plan was to raise money for St John’s through sales of our prints from our studio but Covid-19 put a stop to that. We’re a creative bunch and when we saw everyone out walking for some fresh air we decided we could walk for a purpose - to raise money for our local hospice.

"Every day we are out walking – whether its metres because of a disability or miles; it doesn’t matter, what matters it the positive effect it’s having all of us and hopefully for St John’s finances. People send me their daily walking figures so my phone is buzzing with positivity constantly!”

By committing to this gruelling challenge Has2BHappy are asking people to support their efforts with a donation to St Johns Hospice by visiting here.Meanwhile, Bayview Childcare found that during this difficult time the young people in their homes have found it hard not being able to have direct contact with their families.

Having bought iPads for the young people they care for they then decided to fundraise for St John's Hospice so their patients could see their families remotely too.

Paul Johnson, Director of Care at Bayview Childcare, said: "Lockdown has been hard for everyone and the children are really keen to make sure that other people in the community can also benefit from iPad chats, especially St John's patients who may have families who live out of the area.

"Using their exercise time, the staff and children have set themselves an incredible fundraising challenge of walking miles and miles based on football distances."

So far they have walked the distance of Slyne-with-Hest Football Club to Wembley Stadium and raised more than £1,725.

Not content with this they have now set themselves a new challenge based on distances between many European football stadiums, which could see them 'walking all over Europe' to clock up another 300 miles.

To find out more about the Bayview Childcare challenge to help their community go online here.