There is still plenty of time to join The Fire Fighters Charity’s year-long #My75Miles challenge to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2018. The Charity’s supporters have already run, walked, cycled and even skied thousands of miles, raising thousands of pounds, but you’ve still got plenty of time to get involved and make 2018 a year to remember.
Run, walk, swim, cycle, row, scoot or pogo-stick your way to 75 miles. You can take on The Fire Fighters Charity’s #My75Miles anniversary challenge any way you wish. What’s more, you can take part by yourself or as part of a team and, as long as the distance is completed before 31 December 2018, you can take however long you want to complete it. All the Charity asks is that you raise a minimum of £75 per participant to support heroes of the fire community along the way.
Every mile you manage and every pound you raise throughout the Charity’s anniversary year will help it to support members of the fire-services community recovering from illness, injury or psychological trauma. So, whether you fancy running the 75 miles in one go, or joining a group of friends to swim it over the course of the next six months, the options are endless and entirely up to you.
They’re your 75 miles, so go out there and smash them.
Why take on 75 miles?
Your 75 miles will be a personal journey, but by undertaking it you will be helping thousands of others on their journey of recovery from injury, illness or psychological trauma.
The Fire Fighters Charity exists to support the everyday heroes of the UK fire community through the provision of life-enhancing health and wellbeing services. Operating from three centres, throughout local communities and via online services, it positively impacts over 5,000 people a year.
How your 75 miles will help
The sponsorship money you raise as you tackle your 75 miles will make a huge difference to the Charity’s beneficiaries. Here’s how:
£75 in sponsorship money will:
- Allow 15 beneficiaries to attend an exercise therapy session or
- Allow the Charity to deliver five one-to-one hydrotherapy sessions or
- Allow the Charity to keep its Services Access Line open for five hours
Meanwhile, every £20 you raise will:
- Pay for a firefighter with mental-health issues to attend a face-to-face psychological support session or
- Provide a one-to-one physiotherapy session for a firefighter recovering from knee surgery
How you can sign up today
To register for #My75Miles head to www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/my75miles or just Google ‘#My75Miles’. You’ll find plenty of links on the website to register and doing so will take no more than a couple of minutes. You’ll be guided through the process of setting up your fundraising page too, so there’s no need to worry about setting up a separate JustGiving page; you can do it all on the Charity’s website.
Recruit your friends
If your friends haven’t yet signed up, why not give them a little nudge to do so? Share your fundraising page on social media and tag your friends and colleagues with a little prompt to the Charity’s website. The more people we can recruit to #My75Miles, the more money the Charity can hopefully raise to support firefighters in need and make its 75th year one to really remember. Good luck and get going!
Meet the #My75Milers
Karla Stevenson
Watch Manager, Marionville Fire Station, Edinburgh
“I’m taking part to raise funds for the Charity because without them I wouldn’t be doing the job I have now. I received their help back in 2004 after major knee surgery and this is my way of saying thank you.
“I had my cruciate ligament in my knee reconstructed after an accident. I spent two weeks at Jubilee House in Penrith where they not only helped me physically but mentally too as I’d lost confidence in my knee’s ability to withstand activities such as firefighting.
“I’m planning on running my 75 miles, which will include the Isle of Skye half marathon in June.”
Cheshire Trainee Firefighters
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
A group of trainee firefighters from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service ran 75 miles in 75 minutes back in April, in full fire kit.
The team of ten trainees took part in the challenge as part of their training programme to become firefighters, and used bikes and rowing machines as well as running to cover the distance.
Trainee firefighter Sam Woodcock said: “My dad received one week of intensive physiotherapy, courtesy of The Fire Fighters Charity, after he underwent a hip replacement following his retirement after 30 years of service, ending his career in Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service as a rider station officer. His recovery before the visit was painful and protracted; the visit greatly helped my dad. The service was second to none and I want to support other firefighters who may need to utilise the Charity and benefit from the unrivalled service provided.”
Craig Horton
Firefighter, London Fire Brigade
“I decided to help raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity by taking part in the #My75miles challenge because as a serving firefighter I feel it’s only right that I help raise funds for my fellow colleagues and their families.
“The way in which I am completing my 75 miles is by what I call ‘Tower Runs’. One tower run comprises of running up the internal stairs case in the drill tower, which is six flights of stairs, and back down again, followed by either 10 press ups or 25 sit ups. I then run a circuit of the drill yard. I repeat this whole process 20 times in one session. It usually takes about 40 minutes to complete and covers three miles.”
Kelcie Enever
11 years-old from Nottinghamshire
Eleven-year-old Kelcie from Nottinghamshire is supporting her firefighting father and Charity volunteer Arron Enever by taking part in her first solo fundraising challenge.
“I am swimming 75 miles which is around 121,000 metres. I’m finding it pretty easy as I usually swim four to six times per week as part of my training with my swimming clubs. I have always loved swimming since I started my first lesson aged 18 months and am keeping count of my lengths and distance by using my Fitbit.
“I always help my dad when he his involved in money raising. I’ve helped him at car washes, on stalls at Nottingham Goose Fair, supermarkets, cake sales and much more. I really wanted to do something on my own to help raise money so I decided to take on this challenge.”
For more information, go to my75miles.firefighterscharity.org.uk/
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