Berkhamsted’s St John Ambulance Youth Unit raise hundreds to support the COVID-19 emergency appeal

Berkhamsted’s St John Ambulance Youth Unit has raised over £700 and walked over 2,000 miles to support the COVID-19 emergency appeal.

The group, which consists of 14 Badgers - children aged seven to 11 - and 15 Cadets - aged 11 to 17 - and their leaders wanted to make a difference during these unprecedented times.

They decided to walk 1,758 miles in four weeks, the equivalent of walking to Rhodes, during their daily exercise.

The money raised from the walk will go towards the unit supporting the NHS.

On the Just Giving page it says: "Help us ease the strain during the COVID-19 outbreak. Our dedicated St John Ambulance volunteers are standing by to relieve pressure on our NHS by boosting the health response in communities across the country."

Sam Weller, Unit Manager, said: “The unit have still been running sessions online during the pandemic so that the children have something positive to focus on.

"We came up with the idea of the sponsored walk so that we can support our companions in the NHS in a useful and helpful way."

They started on May 1, and aimed to finish by the end of the month, but they completed the challenge by May 26.

Hayley, whose son Tommy is one of the Badgers, said: "We absolutely smashed it walking 2,100 miles which is over 340 miles more than we needed!

"My son Tommy is one of the badgers so I’ve been walking with him.

"We’re not really walkers but with this target it had really spurred us on to get out and do it, so it was a great thing to get us active and it helped us mentally too, getting out in the fresh air."

They have currently raised £740 and are hoping to reach the £1,000 mark, to make a donation to the unit's sponsored walk visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/berkounitwalktorhodes.

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