The UK’s mass participation event industry came together with the crowd funding website, JustGiving, in April 2020 to launch The 2.6 Challenge, a nationwide fundraising campaign intended to Save the UK’s Charities. The onset of Covid-19 in early 2020 had seen the income of many charities plummet, so The 2.6 Challenge was an attempt to repair some of that damage.
The Mighty Creatives supported the campaign by helping some of the most vulnerable children and young people across the East Midlands: young people who are leaving care and who need help to make the transition from care to independent living. This is a huge step at any time for these young people: navigating independence alongside the isolation of the Covid-19 crisis gave them additional challenges and pressures which were unimaginable just a few months previously.
My contribution to the campaign started on 26th April by deciding to cycle at least 2.6km per day in 1km increments so that I would be cycling at least 26km after 26 days. By donating to the campaign, donors would be able to help our young people in care navigate their futures by helping me navigate my rickety way around Sneinton and beyond into the bargain.
As well raising invaluable funds for the campaign, I experienced several journeys of discovery in their own right and this blog marks those journeys. It charts the geography, the ‘A-Ha’ moments, what it was like to get back on a bike after so many years, discovering the unfamiliar of the familiar, the transience of life and some thoughts on our new horizons and what’s next for all of us.
You can see and update of the campaign – and donate if you wish – here.
Dr Nick Owen MBE PLUS 