Over 500 people have already donated towards the virtual fundraising campaign, which aims to replace the charity’s public fundraising events which have had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic including the Southend Half Marathon, Southend Triathlon, Pedal for The J’s and the Havens to Havens Walk.

The ‘30 in 30’ virtual campaign runs until 31st August and challenges people to walk, run or cycle 30 miles across 30 days. The charity has chosen 30 miles because that’s the average distance one of its Hospice at Home nurses will travel in a day to care for patients and families in the community.

Two participants who completed their own virtual ‘30 in 30’ challenge are siblings Sophie and Adam from Basildon. Sophie aged 10 and Adam aged 6, took their challenge the extra mile by cycling 100 miles in just over 30 days, raising £200 in sponsorship for the charity.

Adam said, “We think it is important to support those who are helping others even though they have families of their own to look after. We found the challenge exciting and one time when we rode through the park, we saw four baby geese. When the challenge was over we were relieved -we wanted to help Havens Hospices as quickly as we could.”

Sophie added, “The charity plays a vital role and they are really kind people who put others before themselves. I’m pleased to have helped make people feel happier.”

Another participant who decided to take on the charity’s virtual event last month was Little Havens Volunteer, Sarah Franklin. Sarah from Shoeburyness has been volunteering as a receptionist at Little Havens, based in Thundersley and once the lockdown was announced Sarah wanted to raise money for the charity so decided to walk 10km each day in May.

Sarah, whose parents also volunteer at Fair Havens Hospice, completed five charity walks last year, four of which were marathon distance or further so wasn’t planning on completing any more fundraisers for this year, until the Coronavirus pandemic drove her to put her walking shoes on again for the charity close to her heart.

She said: “I decided I wanted to set myself some sort of challenge to get through lockdown and actually saw another charity doing 100km in May. I thought I’d give myself a similar challenge of 10km a day in May and then I saw Havens Hospices’ ‘30 in 30’ challenge and thought why not? Even if I can only a raise a little bit, every pound raised helps provide care for our patients during very difficult times of their lives. I was going to do the walking anyway so may as well raise valuable funds at the same time.

“I have witnessed first-hand the amazing work the charity does, and my family’s volunteering work came about because of a family friend who was cared for and passed away at Little Havens when she was 15.”

Sarah successfully completed her challenge raising £270 and even exceeded her target of  310km in May by completing 341km – the equivalent of eight marathons.

Joining the virtual campaign is free, but the charity is asking participants to fundraise as much as possible so Havens Hospices can continue ‘Making every day count’ for everyone they care for.

If challengers raise £30 they will receive a medal, plus a t-shirt if they raise £150 or more. This is a challenge for everyone to take part in and doesn’t have to be physical – it can be any challenge based around the number 30.

Set a target today and join the charity’s virtual fundraisers taking on the challenge till end of August. To sign up visit www.havenshospices.org.uk/30in30