Luton teachers walk thousands of miles to raise over £25,000 for charity

Hundreds of teachers and staff from Luton schools came together, virtually, on Friday, April 24, to take part in the #LutonSchoolRun and raise money for charity.

The #LutonSchoolRun, organised by St Matthew's Primary School, saw 716 people from 38 schools in Luton raise over £25,000 for Level Trust.

The Luton-based charity will use the money raised to support vulnerable children and young people and their families during the coronavirus pandemic.

Teachers and staff were allocated a one-hour time slot between 7am and 7pm on Friday, during this period they had to complete a run or walk around their garden or living room for the full hour.

Participants had to send evidence that they have completed the challenge to St Matthew’s sports development manager, Dan Chaplen, who collected all results and calculated the total distance travelled - 3,047 miles.

Every person that took part had to make a small contribution to the fundraising page by donating what they would have spent on their lunch or coffee if they had been at work that week.

Jane Malcom, CEO, Level Trust, said: "Covid-19 has taken so much away from children who didn’t have a lot to start with - it’s time to work together to give something back. That is why I am so grateful to Dan Chaplen and his team at St Matthew’s who have poured their time into setting up the #LutonSchoolRun.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has made life much harder for children and young people in financial hardship.

"Home has now become school. If you live in cramped housing, with no garden, very few learning resources and struggle to afford essential food and clothing, learning is going to be nearly impossible.

"The money the #LutonSchoolRun raises will go towards our Emergency Home School Fund which will provide essential food, clothing and learning resources so that all children can continue to learn during the school closures.

"They raised £25,478 from 1,408 supporters, which is amazing and we are really grateful to everyone who has donated.

"Because we beat our target, it will allow us to fund another project when the children go back to school, it will allow us to continue to help them."

To make a donation visit: www.justgiving.com/campaign/emergencyhomeschoolfund.

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