THEY smashed it! A team of York friends challenged themselves to walk a virtual Three Peaks to raise funds for school laptops - and beat their target three times over.
They now hope to be able to buy 12 Chromebooks for use by pupils at St George’s RC primary and All Saints secondary school.
York mum-of-three Helen Meadows said: “We have been overwhelmed by the community response and have raised over £2,000.
“It will make a huge difference and allow the schools to purchase at least six Chromebooks each which will help many pupils stay connected and safe.”
Such great effort deserves a pat on the back - so this 'walking for laptops' team are our Charity Champions of the week. Congratulations and well done! If you are doing a great challenge for a good cause click here to tell us about it - you could be our next Charity Champion of the week!
Helen was one of seven people connected to the school who took part in the challenge to walk or run the equivalent of the Three Peaks distance - 23 miles (37 km) - on pavement, field, back garden or treadmill over three to five days.
Also taking part was St George's head teacher Dee Statham, who walked five miles every evening after school with her dog Flossy and Canon Alan Sheridan, former parish priest of St George’s RC Church, who walked the distance on his treadmill.
Anna Greening walked it in one go in just under seven hours in the freezing cold while Rebecca Mullen ran most of the distance and finished the last 2km with her family.
Lyn Baxter walked in sections, often with her son Harry, and Emma Cooper walked the distance on a treadmill, as did Helen.
The group had planned to walk Three Peaks pre-Covid for charity.
Helen said: "Unfortunately, like so many things, this plan had to be put on hold. We came up with the idea of walking the distance virtually instead, although without all the hills!"
She added: "We are a group of friends with links to St George’s and All Saints schools. Since the announcement of the third lockdown we had become troubled by reports that many pupils would not have access to online learning due to a lack of laptops or similar devices. We decided that we would try and help in some small way and looked for a suitable fundraising challenge.
"The money we raise will buy laptops for use by pupils who do not have access to them, which unfortunately is still the case for many.
"Initially our target was £700, but we have been blown away by the support and the generosity of the local community and raised £1,705 in just four days! Teachers, parents, grandparents, the church community have all supported our fundraising, to ensure that pupils are not disadvantaged by the move to online learning.
"We are also encouraging friends and family to donate laptops no longer in use, that have been wiped of data, to their local schools."
Helen added: "We feel that particularly during a pandemic, access to the internet is not a luxury but a necessity, especially for children who are isolated from their friends and need to access online learning.
"Yet so many families don’t have access to a laptop, desktop or tablet at home. If they do, it is often the case that siblings are sharing one device, even sometimes a mobile phone, with their parents. This can become very expensive as more data is being used. It also means that many pupils are having to go to school during lockdown, if they’re not able to learn from home, which potentially increases virus transmission.
"We have been overwhelmed by the community response to this fundraiser, especially by people not living in the local area or connected to the schools, and have now raised over £2,000. It will make a huge difference and allow the schools to purchase at least five or six Chromebooks each which will help many pupils stay connected and safe. "
To support the cause, the group has set up a Just Giving page, click here to donate.
Or find it at: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/laptop-for-schools-three-peaks-virtual-challenge?utm_term=mjvZvBDjV
And don't forget - if you are doing a great challenge for a good cause click here to tell us about it - you could be our next Charity Champion of the week!
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