Cope step challenge proves a great success

Volunteers from Cork and beyond are celebrating their achievement of walking millions of steps throughout the month of February in aid of the Cope Foundation.

Almost 800 people completed the 300,000 Steps Challenge during the 28 days of February to raise funds for projects and programmes that empower and support people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism across Cork city and county.

A total of 240,000,000 steps, the equivalent of travelling from Cork to Australia 10 times, were completed in February by individuals, companies, schools, people supported by Cope Foundation and many staff members.

The orgnisation thanked all participants for their efforts and awarded some of its top fundraisers with exclusive 300,000 Steps plaques to mark their achievements during the campaign, which was supported by EY. Lead partner of EY Cork, John Higgins, said: “We were thrilled to once again support Cope Foundation’s #StepsForChange initiative. Movement and exercise are so important to our mental health and wellbeing.

“However, with life resuming to some sort of normality, this year presented an extra challenge. Anyone who took part had to make an extra effort to get their daily steps in along with busy schedules. But, overall, it was a great way for everyone to stay active and motivated during February.”

Team leader for the campaign who provided weekly video updates on the challenge, Matthew Murphy, said that he was “delighted” to share his progress every week as a means to motivate others.

“I really enjoyed helping people stay motivated. It wasn’t an easy task to get over 10,000 daily steps, but it was so worth it. I’m looking forward to taking on the challenge again next year.”

People of all ages stepped out to stay fit and support the February challenge and as a result, many have developed a habit of reaching over 10,000 steps a day and aim to continue achieving this daily goal.