A PAIR of best friends, who are walking the equivalent length of Ireland for charity, will finish their challenge tomorrow (Friday) in Holywood.
Bangor women, Corrie Leitch and Johanne Jefferson, have been walking 7.2 miles every day for the last six weeks, to raise awareness and money for children’s grief support charity, Winston’s Wish.
Aiming to walk the length of Ireland, the pair of busy working mums have been walking around the Bangor area daily to complete their 302 mile challenge, which comes to an end tomorrow in Holywood.
While the pair would have loved to have walked in a variety of areas during their challenges, busy lifestyles prevented them from doing so – and so instead, with a touch of humour, the women have been sharing a fictional picture of where they might have been completing their journey instead of their usual laps of Ballyholme.
Corrie, the founder of fundraising group Turn the Tide NI, was inspired to take on the significant challenge to raise money for Winston’s Wish, after her own personal experience of needing support from the charity in 2019.
“The parent of someone aged under 18 dies every 22 minutes in the UK with one in 20 children experiencing the death of a parent by the age of 16,” Corrie explained.
“My daughter very sadly lost her dad to suicide and we have experienced first-hand how life changing the support from an organisation like Winston’s Wish can be.
“Their books and resources were invaluable in helping us navigate the past few years and understand the grief journey and this is a great opportunity for us to give something back.”
Johanne, being exercise shy, floated the idea of a masquerade ball but was convinced by her friend that doing a physical sacrifice would be better.
“I have to say I was very nervous at the thought of walking over seven miles a day,” Johanne said.
“Getting a good dose of fresh air every day, some thinking time and knowing we are helping people has been just what I needed.”
The team have been astounded at the support so far, having raised 40% of their £3,000 target.
They hope as many as possible can join them for the final day of the walk as they journey from Pickie Park car park to Holywood at 10am on Friday.
People can follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram or make a donation at: justgiving.com/team/turnthetideni
More information on Winston’s Wish charity can be found at: www.winstons wish.org/
