Over the past month, hundreds of incredible fundraisers have been walking and running 100 kilometres to raise vital funds for Alder Hey Children’s Charity and make an unbelievable difference for children and young people at Alder Hey.

The Step into Summer challenge was Alder Hey Children’s Charity’s second virtual challenge, following on from the success of the March 50K Challenge in March this year, which raised over £60,000 for the charity’s MediCinema Appeal. By encouraging supporters to get out and ‘step into summer’, we hope that we have encouraged people to get active whilst raising incredible amounts of money for our charity.

In an effort to go bigger and better than the March 50K Challenge, our fundraisers encouraged supporters to run or walk 100 kilometres throughout the month of June, doubling the target set in March’s challenge. All supporters who signed up for the challenge all got stuck in, running and walking thousands of kilometres between them, and raised over £60,000 for Alder Hey Children’s Charity!

These funds will make such a difference to the hospital experience of the 450,000 children and young people who use Alder Hey’s services every year. Funds raised from this challenge will support initiatives across the hospital, from funding new equipment to providing magical experiences for patients during the difficult time of being in hospital – the commitment and generosity of those who stepped into summer for Alder Hey will make a lasting impact right across our hospital.

One supporter who stepped up to the challenge was Becca Wilkinson, who raised an impressive £1115 whilst completing the challenge with flying colours. Becca decided to take part in the challenge to thank Alder Hey for the care that her son Dominic has received from the hospital since before he was born. At her twenty-week scan, doctors diagnosed Becca’s unborn baby with Spina Bifida, a condition where a baby’s spine and spinal cord do not form properly causing a gap in the spine and informed her that foetal surgery would be required to prevent any further damage. Since he was born Dominic has been under the care of the Alder Hey team, who Becca says, “have been beyond amazing with his treatment to give him the best start in life.”

Becca told us: “As a family we cannot thank Alder Hey enough for everything that they have done and continue to do for our little man. To say thank you I decided to take part in the Step into Summer challenge to raise money for this life-changing hospital, with my little sidekick Dominic by my side, who is doing better than anyone could imagine and makes us so unbelievably proud every single day.”

Thank you so much to Becca and everyone else who got involved in our Step into Summer Challenge and played their part in making a difference at Alder Hey. If you enjoyed getting out and moving to raise funds for our incredible hospital, then we hope you will join us for our next virtual challenge. Keep an eye out for more information – coming soon!