In March 2020, Samaritans Wellington organised a ‘fun walk’ to raise funds for our important cause and awareness of our helpline – 0800 726 666.
We recruited passionate Wellingtonians to take part and help us fundraise. Participants signed up to walk 10km around the Wellington waterfront on the 28th of March but due to Covid-19 we needed to change the event. Instead, participants ended up walking 10km on a day of their choosing in a local area to comply with alert level four restrictions.
Some participants took this event to the next level, including Matthew Bloomer who walked 10km on his steep property. This involved walking up and down his garden path 143 times! Being Wellington, the path had a steep vertical drop meaning by the end of the walk he had walked the equivalent of the Empire State Building twice! Not only this, Matthew carried a 25kg pack filled with food that he later donated to the Wellington City Mission.
Likewise, Jack Roberts decided to go above and beyond. Instead of walking 10km, he ran a half marathon, raising over $1,200 for Samaritans, Wellington.
Although we had to change Walk With Me, our amazing participants raised over $13,000 for Samaritans Wellington.
We’d like to publicly acknowledge and thank each and every one of our incredible participants for putting in the hard yards and walking 10km and raising money for our important cause. Our thanks also go out to every donor who supported their friend, colleague, or family member to take on this challenge. Every dollar raised will be put towards our free helpline service.
Go to our donate page to find out more about the ways you can make a difference.