And we’re off…

SIL takes on 25,000 mile challenge to celebrate its 25 year anniversary… no, it’s not an April fool.  We really are going to be attempting to cover 25,000 miles (one thousand miles for each year) from April 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022!

The whole SIL team, trustees, services users, families and supporters are invited to help us achieve this fantastic total in this inclusive challenge.

Chief Executive, Euan McPherson, said: “We promote physical and mental wellbeing as part of our organisational approach to ensuring we have a happy and healthy workforce. We all know that lockdown this winter has thrown up many difficulties, so I hope that by encouraging people to be part of the challenge, they will rack up the miles towards our goal as well as benefitting their own minds and bodies”,

The miles can be covered in any way that involves some sort of self-propulsion, so whether it’s walking, running, swimming, cycling, rolling, or scooting, horse riding, canoeing or any other activity, so long as distance is covered it will count towards the final total. SIL want to make the challenge accessible to anyone, so the use of electric mobility aids or assistant propelled wheelchairs is fine too.

It’s all for a good cause! While we are not asking for individual sponsorship, we would welcome donations and have set up a donation page on Just Giving to help raise money for the SIL charity of the year Megan Baker House (MBH).   We chose MBH last year but sadly, due to Covid we were unable to host any of our usual fundraising events and so had nothing to hand over to MBH. We will be supporting them again this year and hope that if people would like to support our challenge, they will donate money to the page, knowing it is going to a very worthwhile charity.”

We will post regular updates here on this blog; we’ll give you monthly totalisers, top tips and activities to join in, as well as sharing your stories too.

How to join

Firstly, we just need you to start moving and totting up those miles and encourage others too.  You may like to use an app like Strava, Map my walk or Run keeper – we’ll do a blog on these very soon – or just keep count using a map.  Lots of mobile phones or fitness tracker watches will count the miles for you too.

Secondly, at the end of the month email your total over to us at SIL25K@s4il.co.uk.  You can also send us any pictures of you doing your activities, funny stories or your personal bests.  We would love to see what you are up to.

Finally – for now – encourage everyone to take part, follow our Facebook for blog alerts and share the Just Giving link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sil-25k-challenge

Good luck everyone

SIL Yearbook 2020

Normally, we would take you through a round-up of all our events, trips, activities and best moments of the past year. We would celebrate the achievements of individuals, teams and the whole of Services for Independent Living, our service users and friends, but…

This has been anything but a normal year! 2020; the year when we all got told to stay at home; we home schooled our children; rice, pasta and loo rolls were rationed and face masks and being quarantined became our ‘new norm’. Covid-19 soon came to change nearly everything; everything that is but our passion for our work with disabled and older people, and supporting their independence.

Covid-19, you sent the world into a frenzy but you didn’t stop us doing what we do best!

So whilst we didn’t get out and about as much, we still have awards, personal triumphs, successes and joyfulness and we continue to live our guiding principles; PRIDES.

Click on the image to read our Yearbook: