On Sunday morning, Walnut Grove residents Lynn Brownlee and Gert Hanson got up at 3 a.m. and went for a walk.
By 2:30 in the afternoon, they were still walking in the rain, joined by nearly 50 other people, as the fourth annual Step Up For Kids fundraiser began winding down.
Brownlee said they decided to go the extra distance and walk 50 kilometres to encourage donations to the campaign to help needy kids and to set an example as well.
“If you can just keep going, and keep holding on to hope, putting one foot in front of the other, you can accomplish great things,” Brownlee told the Langley Advance Times.
Hanson was urging people to keep donating, to help the campaign reach its goal of $5,000.
“Just push that donate button [online],” Hanson implored.
Step Up For Kids got going on Saturday (August 11) with seven fundraisers tackling the Grouse Grind climb.
Day two was reserved for the Fort to Fort trail walkathon, which was about six kilometres.
Brownlee and Hanson planned their walk so they covered 44 kilometres before arriving in time for the start of the walkathon.
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Mike Brownlee, the director of the Metro Kids Society, organizer of the event, said thanks to new sponsors getting on board, the amount raised was up from previous years, with about $4,500 projected before all the receipts were tallied.
In previous years, the amount raised averaged around $2,500, he said.
The Metro Kids Society helps fund a bus pick-up program called Kids Klub, a games and socializing program held every Saturday at Christian Life Assembly in Langley, where between 120 and 150 underprivileged children are picked up at home to take part in the program.
It also operates the Sidewalk Kids Klub, an outreach initiative where staff and youth volunteers bring the program for underprivileged children to apartment complexes in the city.
More information about the campaign can be seen online at www.metrokids.ca/donate.
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Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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