A junior football club has played its part during the Covid-19 pandemic not once, twice, but three times after going above and beyond expectations yet again.
Haddenham Rovers Colts teamed up to take part in the 4.2 million steps challenge from November 5 to December 2, each step representing every child living in poverty in the UK.
Sixty-seven families united to instead reach 10.4 million steps through walking, running, scootering, workouts and Zoom training sessions, whilst raising funds for the Ely Foodbank.
“We set up the challenge to encourage families to keep active and to help their wellbeing during lockdown as well as helping families who may need to use a foodbank,” Sarah Roper, manager of Haddenham Rovers Under 13 Girls, said.
“We chose to support Ely Foodbank as we heard there had been a 61 per cent increase in demand for food banks because of the pandemic.
“Having two children of my own, I know how difficult it can be to get them off their electronic devices and motivate them to be active, so I hoped this challenge would help us as well as other families within the club.”
Previously, the club held a virtual challenge for its under 10 boys and under 12 girls’ sides where they covered over 200 miles between Haddenham and Wembley Stadium for the NHS.
This time, Rovers wanted to include all its teams in a bid to keep both players and their families active during the second shutdown.
“When football stopped, we tried to think of ways to keep players active and encourage family members to get involved too,” Sarah said.
“We had lots of positive feedback from parents to say how the challenge was not only motivating the children but also encouraging the adults to be more active.
“Some children were so motivated by the challenge, they chose to do a 12-hour stepathon and raise more money for the cause, with two players covering more than 30,000 steps each.”
Sarah said the club are making Christmas shoeboxes for Ely Foodbank to help children less fortunate, and with another fundraiser is already in the pipeline, she hopes the club can continue to benefit their community.
“We are very proud to have raised over £1,000 for this charity and we hope this money will be able to help support families during winter and over the festive season,” she added.
“I didn’t imagine to raise so much, which is fantastic.”
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