Meet the fundraiser: Fiona Harris-Hunt at Children Today Charitable Trust

I joined Children Today in the Summer of 2022 having left my role as a teacher, but still wanting to make a difference to the lives of children and young people. Children Today was the perfect charity to join, as they help children and young people who are living with disabilities to access adapted equipment, which is often unavailable on the NHS. This was my first time in a fundraising role and I wanted to start by doing something active for the charity that would raise awareness and funds to help us carry out our wonderful work.

Although I’m not much of a sports person, I decided a great challenge would be to try the ‘One Foot in the Gargrave’ challenge walk which was hosted by the LDWA (Long Distance Walking Association). I picked up a new pair of walking boots a month before, set up my fundraising page on Just Giving and started my training by walking 10 miles across the North York Moors with my dog, Jack! While this was a great start, the most important part of my training was getting the right playlist to keep me going!

The challenge walk itself rolled around really quickly, and on the morning itself, we (my husband, dad, sister, brother-in-law and his mum) filled our camel packs with lots of water and our bags with lots of jelly babies ready to go! We were really glad to have undertaken a challenge run by the LDWA as there were regular refuelling and snack stops, which meant we could keep the weight down in our bag – and as proud Yorkshiremen (and women) we are always happy for the chance to stop and have a brew!

The 23-mile walk began in Malamdale and led us through the beautiful Boss Moor. Our aim was to finish the walk in 8 hours, and we managed 7 hours and 59 minutes thanks to a last-minute sprint finish along the canal!

Although not the speediest challenge event, we felt a tremendous sense of achievement and raised £425 to help Children Today continue their amazing work- this could help a child or young person who is living with disabilities to access vital equipment including sensory equipment, like bubble tubes or even a trike, which was well worth the achy legs at the end! 

Now that we have completed our first challenge event, we can’t wait to do more, and plan to sign up for the Jurassic Coast Trek offered by the ‘Different Travel Company’ which is one of our partners offering both bespoke and pre-existing challenges for anyone wishing to raise money to help charities like Children Today. 

You can check them out and sign up for your very own fundraising challenge for Children Today by visiting: https://www.different-travel.com/our-charity-partners/.