St Mary’s Hospice is launching a new fundraising challenge and this one will help you kick start a healthy 2025.

Move 4 St Mary’s has been designed to help you kick-start 2025, by getting off the sofa and into the habit of doing some kind of physical activity. 

Events Manager Mel Dixon explains: “I think movement is medicine, and we’ve designed this challenge with that in mind. Whatever your ability, getting ourselves moving improves our physical and mental health. 

“Most of our challenges involve running marathons or walking miles, but this one is different. It’s about setting your own goals and committing to doing what you can, for as long or as often as you can.

“And it doesn’t matter that you’ve missed January 1. We’ve all been there, it gets to the end of the first week and you can’t quite keep up with the gym every day or abstaining from a beer or a glass of wine.

“With Move 4 St Mary’s it doesn’t really matter when you start, as long as it’s sometime in January.

“And it doesn’t really matter if you can do something every day, or just a couple of times a week, we want people to move more than they usually would, and help raise funds for us in the process.

“For some people that might be a rigid 10,000 steps each day, but we know that not everyone can do that, so if doing a swim once a week, a lap of the garden, or even some chair-based exercise is outside of your comfort zone, you can get involved too.

“We’ve already got some babies who’ve been signed up by their mums — the little ones are just about taking their first steps, and the plan is for them to focus on walking during January.”

The benefits of exercise in contributing to a healthy lifestyle are well understood and an added bonus of blowing off the cobwebs, working off those mince pies or Christmas puddings is that participants will be helping St Mary’s raise the £5.9 million they need to raise each year to fund vital care for people across Furness and South Lakes. 

Mel added: “So many people get involved in challenges and events for us, and we’re so proud to be so well supported by our communities.”

Participants who sign up via the St Mary’s website launch a JustGiving page and commit to raising £30, will be able to claim a t-shirt, running vest or even a bandana for their dogs, if dog walking is the challenge they commit to.

Registration is free and you can sign up here