Stepping to it for Chestnut Tree House

The Chestnutters and the Conkerers have already begun their Activity4Charity challenge in aid of Sussex’s only children’s hospice.

The teams must run or walk 10,000 steps a day, recorded by their supplied pedometer. These steps are then uploaded to the Activity4Charity website to keep track of their progress.

By the end of the challenge, the teams will have trotted up enough steps to complete seven marathons.

The Conkerers include staff nurse Jane Herrington, chef Jez Keemar, care support worker Amanda Trafford, staff nurse Mick Crosby and community fund-raiser Jayne Todd.

The Chestnutters include play worker Nichola Bouch, community support worker Sam Brown, community nurse Louise Borton, maintenance officer Ken Gillingham and director of children’s services Linda Perry.

For Linda, the Activity4Charity challenge is the first of 10 that she plans to complete in 2013 – Chestnut Tree House’s 10th anniversary year.

Linda thought it fitting that, as part of the celebrations, she set herself the task of completing a full 10 challenges and raising enough money to pay for all the care and services provided by Chestnut Tree House on Monday, November 11, the hospice’s official birthday.

Linda said: “In my role, I spend a lot of time telling people about all the wonderful things Chestnut Tree House does and how little funding we receive from central government. I also spend a lot of time thanking people for their generosity and I thought it was about time I did something as well.

“A couple of years ago, we launched our Pay for a Day initiative. It costs an incredible £6,850 to provide all the services at Chestnut Tree House and out in the community and many generous individuals and companies have paid for their own special day at the hospice.”

On Sunday, February 17, a group walk has been organised so both teams can get together and boost their steps.

Starting at 11am, the group will walk from the bottom of George V Avenue, Worthing, to the Bella Vista restaurant, in East Preston, and back again.

Activity4Charity is open to all. Anyone who would like to take part in the challenge for Chestnut Tree House should contact the fund-raising team, on 01903 871820.

Alternatively, send an email to [email protected]