How I stepped up to raise £940 for the Hospice

Linda Knight took on Saint Francis Hospice's Step Up challenge by walking 12,000 steps a day throughout March 2021. She raised an incredible £940.00 to help patients and families who need the Hospice's care and support, just as her family did. Here Linda shares her story to inspire more people to step into the shoes of a hospice nurse this March. 

When I heard about the Step Up challenge last year, I was inspired to take part. My husband was ill with terminal cancer and was being helped by the hospice, so I wanted to do my bit to give something back.

Although I couldn't do the work the nurses do, I thought I could try to walk 12,000 steps each day.  I said to myself, if they can, so can I.

I'd never done an online fundraiser before but the fundraising team at Saint Francis Hospice helped me to set up a JustGiving page and I bought myself a step counter on Amazon to track my steps each day.

The fundraising team kept checking on me to see if I needed any help so I didn't feel I was doing it on my own.

How I upped my step count

I already had a treadmill at home which needed to be used more and I planned to do around 5,000 steps each morning on that to get started.

I also planned other walks throughout the day. I tried to round the park every day and walk to the shops instead of driving, and that helped me to get the next 5,000 or so steps. All the other steps were from walking round my house and doing my normal daily activities.

On one day in particular, I even managed to walk over 21,000 steps by going for a walk in the park with my niece after spending the morning on the treadmill! I didn't know we would be walking so far that day!

"I am so proud of myself"

12,000 steps a day was a lot, and has caused me some pain in my feet, but it was worth it to raise the money that I did. The challenge gave me the motivation to keep going despite the pain I was sometimes in. It is amazing that the nurses walk this far every day.

I was not so active before the challenge, but since taking part I have found I now walk instead of driving and I got much fitter.

Without the challenge, I wouldn't have had the motivation to walk as much as I did.

Step up for Hospice Care

If you would like to follow in Linda's footsteps, and step up to support Hospice care, then click here to sign up and find out more.