Walk 100,000 steps in May to raise money for The Walton Centre

The Walton Centre Charity is launching a new fundraising event this spring – Walk for Walton!

It is asking people to walk 100,000 steps across the month of May, an average of 3,000 steps a day.

Accessible to older and younger supporters alike, together with their canine friends, and wherever you are in the UK, it’s the perfect way to embrace spring and fundraise for The Walton Centre at the same time.

Money raised will go towards the Home from Home relatives’ accommodation at The Walton Centre where relatives can stay after a patient has been admitted for urgent treatment.

Lee and Noah Hawksworth were one of the first families to stay in the Home from Home accommodation after it opened in 2015. Maria, Lee’s wife and Noah’s mum, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2015 while 33 weeks pregnant and delivered Noah three weeks later. Two months after that, the tumour was removed in a 15-hour operation at The Walton Centre.

Maria said:

“Without Home from Home it would have meant that Lee was travelling three hours each day to see me. The Home from Home gave Noah and Lee somewhere to rest and just knowing they were on site made me feel tonnes better. I can’t imagine how we’d have coped without Home from Home.”

Staff at the hospital are also joining in with the event – taking part in the challenge itself, and spurring supporters along with their daily step counts.

Lisa Salter, Chief Nurse at The Walton Centre, said:

“Some of our nursing staff do 10,000 steps a day, and our porters 30,000. We can’t wait to get started and clock up those steps alongside our fantastic supporters, raising money for Home from Home, which is such a vital service.

“The benefit of families staying in a safe environment, close to their loves ones while they are sometimes in life-threatening or changing condition at the hospital, cannot be underestimated.”

Entry is £10 and all supporters will receive a t-shirt ahead of the challenge and a medal at the end.

To take part in The Walton Centre ‘Walk for Walton’, click here.