Sheffield St Luke's Hospice launches virtual version of Night Strider charity challenge

Night Strider is the popular St Luke’s October charity event that sees supporters heading off into the night on either a 10k or walking half marathon challenge.

Almost 1,000 people took part in Night Strider 2019, raising more than £115,000.

This year would have marked Night Strider’s sixth anniversary but when the pandemic took hold, a new plan had to be developed - and Night Strider has gone virtual.

Participants can register free of charge to do their own fundraising event any time between between Saturday, October 3 - when Night Strider would have taken place - and October 31.

“Our usual Night Strider is not open to under-10s but this year there’s a great chance for the whole family to get involved and create their own fun event,” said St Luke’s head of fundraising, Joasia Lesniak.

A listening ear for NHS staff

“You choose your own date, your own route, your own level of personal challenge and then you simply get out there and have a great time.

“Daytime or evening, it doesn’t matter when you get active so long as you let everybody know that you’re fundraising and need their support.

“It doesn’t even have to be a walk - you can swim, hop, hula hoop or do absolutely anything that will keep the Night Strider spirit alive until we can all meet up again.

“Our aim, of course, is to make this a massive success and the key to that is encouraging all your family and friends to give you as much support as possible.

“Raising £65 in sponsorship could contribute to a family who has recently lost a loved one receiving two hours of our specialised bereavement support.

“And if you were to raise more than £200 you would be helping to pay for a day of tailored therapy sessions for a terminally ill patient, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and spiritual care - all the things that help give our patients the opportunity to have a better quality of life at the end of their life.

“Just remember to keep things safe and socially distanced and make sure that everybody has fun!”

Night Strider is sponsored this year by Pricecheck and Gripple.

Find out more at www.stlukeshospice.org.uk​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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