A MEMBER of staff at a York special school is planning to walk across the whole breadth of the North York Moors in just 17 hours to raise money for a school minibus – and she’s persuaded her whole family to join her.
Hayley Haigh, 37, a wellbeing practitioner at Applefields School, will be walking the 42 miles from Osmotherley to Ravenscar on June 29 in a bid to raise £10,000 towards a new Sunshine Coach for the school.
She plans to set off at just gone midnight – and complete the whole walk in 17 hours. And she’s persuaded her dad Andy, 64, brothers Dan, 40, and Joe, 33, and sister Holly, also 33, to join her.
She’s already raised £3,195 towards her £10,000 target on her Just Giving page.
And she’s posted an update on the page urging people to keep giving.
“Thank you all so much for the donations so far,” she says.
“It is very generous, kind, thoughtful and very much appreciated.
“Training is going well and it has put into perspective actually how far we are going to have to walk. (But) we are all super stubborn and will NOT be defeated.
“Please keep spreading the word and hopefully we will hit the target and help this awesome school.”
Applefields is a specialist secondary school for students with additional needs.
It has applied for a new Sunshine Coach - a specially adapted, fully accessible minibus that allows disabled and disadvantaged children to access activities outside the classroom - through children’s charity Variety.
Schools are asked to contribute a percentage of the cost towards the minibus, with the remainder coming from companies, trusts, foundations and individual donors.
Hayley said that being able to get a new Sunshine Coach would make a ‘world of difference’ to children at the school.
“They are incredible individuals, but are often held back by lack of accessibility,” she said. “With a new minibus, we could take our kids on fun, exciting, and educational trips that they all deserve to experience.”
She said she and her family members were all in training for the walk. “This is a personal challenge for me as I work at the school,” she said.
“(But) my dad has just retired, and this is a challenge that he wanted to complete to kickstart his life as a free man!”
Applefields headteacher Adam Booker said he was fully behind Hayley’s fundraising efforts.
“We are absolutely proud of what Hayley and her family are going to do for the school,” he said.
“She is one of our hard-working members of staff – as they all are – and to do something like this and give something back when she gives so much to the school already is amazing.”
To donate to Hayley’s Just giving page visit https://shorturl.at/zscnB
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