All-island 'virtual' walks to boost charity funds
Members of Larne Netball Club are putting their best foot forward in a bid to raise funds for a worthy cause.
During the month of May, club members will be taking part in 'Walk Around Ireland' in aid of St John Ambulance Larne.
The club explained: "As the volunteers for St John Ambulance Larne continuously put themselves in often unknown and challenging situations, we as a netball club feel we should challenge ourselves.
"As a community Larne gave our netball club the support it needed to re-establish itself after several years apart. So now we would like to give something back to the community.
"As a club we are aiming to virtually walk/cycle/run the distance of Ireland in just 31 days."
The venture equates to 3,171km or 1,971 miles, taking in 4,924,250 steps.
In return for completing the challenge, the club is asking for donations on their GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/walk-around-ireland-for-st-john-ambulance
"We have set ourselves an initial target of raising £1000 for the worthy cause, and all the money raised through this challenge will be given to St John Ambulance Larne, and the central St John Ambulance team," the club added.
"Between March 16 and April 30, the Larne unit was able to cover 22 shifts, totalling 173 hours of volunteering. The volunteers could have to work six days a week, and eight hours per day in situations some of us could never imagine working in.
"The NHS pay the charity per shift although this money pays for equipment, fuel and upkeep of the ambulances, the members and volunteers are not paid anything. Any donation given goes back into the Larne unit to replace the supplies and equipment needed to support the Larne community."
The club aims to post regularly on their Facebook page to highlight members' progress and where they are in their journey around the island.
Meanwhile, St Killian's College kicked off their own all-Ireland challenge today (Monday).
Staff will run or walk a total of 3,171km as part of 'The Tower tours Ireland' in order to raise funds for Childline NI.
Donations can be made on their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stkillians