Bridlington woman to do 50 walks over 50 days for charity
A Bridlington woman is doing 50 walks over 50 consecutive days to raise money for a charity close to her heart.
A Bridlington woman is doing 50 walks over 50 consecutive days to raise money for a charity close to her heart.
Mum of four Kirsty Young, who is a learning support advisor at East Riding College, is doing it independently for the Helena Kennedy Foundation.
She will be walking for two hours each day after work in the hopes of raising over £500 towards a bursary offered by the small charity which provides a grant worth £2,250, mentorship, and ongoing to support to students who have secured a place at university.
The Foundation supports students who come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds and who have had to overcome significant challenges to get to university, such as leaving care, fleeing domestic violence, or long-term severe health needs. The foundation is the only one in the country that provides help to students who do not need to live in a specific postcode area and students do not need to pay back the money. Award winners use the money to support their learning such as purchasing equipment, childcare or travel.
Kirsty will be easy to recognise as she will be wearing a hi-vis jacket with the Foundation’s emblazoned across it.
The work of the charity is close to Kirsty’s heart, because she herself was a recipient of the grant and extra help as a young student herself.
She said:
“I am fundraising because I benefited from the charity’s help years ago and I have gone on to be more involved over the years.
"The College, the Foundation and my family all helped me when I was a young single mum studying for a degree - that was quite a challenge and now I want to give something back to the Foundation, who provided me with so much support.
"More and more people need this kind of support since COVID-19. I really want to raise awareness of the help that’s out there for people too – to stay involved with the Foundation is a privilege, and the more support we can get for my challenge, the more disadvantaged students can be sponsored by the charity.
“If anyone would like to walk with me on any of the 50 days, you are welcome to, please let me know via my donations page. I will add evidence of the walks onto Strava Maps and will be blogging my way through the challenge, so people can track my progress. It won’t be easy - I work 30 hours a week and my youngest is 5 years old, so it will be a challenge, but I’m ready for it!”
Kirsty’s fundraising page is https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KirstyYoung17
Kirsty’s blog is www.kirstys50walkstosuccess.blogspot.com