A team of eager employees from a Birmingham management consultancy firm has gone the extra distance for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity after taking 12.6 million steps between them, raising more than £1,600.

After working from home for the best part of a year, staff members at EiB agreed that it was time to get motivated and boost their mental wellbeing. Inspired by their clients in the construction industry, the team set their sights on walking the distance of the entire Highways England and Transport Scotland Strategic Road Network.

 

With over 6,200 miles to cover from Cornwall to Thurso, EiB teammates, Imogen Allen and Lauren Hewlett, worked out that it would take 24 colleagues three months to rack up the distance. To keep everyone motivated, they added a fundraising element, choosing Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity as their cause.

Situated just around the corner from the EiB offices, the hospital was an obvious choice for the team especially for 23-year-old Imogen, who underwent an operation for Developmental Hip Dysplasia when she was very young.

Lacing up their shoes and strapping on their pedometers, the team made sure they walked as many steps as possible each day. The app used to track steps included a leaderboard and the team sent pictures of their routes as encouragement for each other. This motivation worked in their favour as the 12.6 million steps challenge was completed two days earlier than planned. The effort they put in also inspired their supporters to dig deep and the team smashed their original £1,000 fundraising target.

Lauren, who is a Graduate Bid Writer at EiB, said: “The team has really put in the work over the last three months and watching our step count increase every day is testament to that. We even finished the challenge with two days to spare! We've raised vital funds for an incredibly worthy local charity and put a focus on our wellbeing during this tough time of year.”

Miranda Williams, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “The team at EiB set themselves a mammoth challenge but by using their fundraising to bring them together at a time when they’re so far apart, their teamwork paid off.

“The incredible amount they raised will go towards helping us do more for the 90,000 sick kids we treat at our hospital every single year.”