Step Up, Stay Put – The Lockdown Challenge to raise funds for charity

As everyone adjusts to working from home and the kitchen table becomes a makeshift classroom, it’s important to also remain active within the confines of your own four walls.

Step Up, Stay Put is a new charity fitness challenge from multi-award-winning Dublin-based event agency Event Fuel through their inhouse online fundraising and ticketing platform Giv2Go that calls on everyone of all ages to get their 10,000 daily steps in while adhering to the government’s request to practice social distancing and stepping up to stay put in their homes wherever possible.

Step Up, Stay Put is also a great way of supporting the many charities that are suffering due to the cancellation of fundraising events. The brains behind fundraising events such as Tour De Picnic and specialists in employee engagement, brand activations and festivals, Event Fuel are experts at bringing people together, and while this is not physically possible during these trying times, the importance of community spirit is stronger now more than ever.

Event Fuel, who are running this new initiative pro bono, have decided to leave the choice of charity up to the participant, as so many charities have been greatly affected by the cancellation of events due to the spread of Covid-19.

However, if you don’t have one in mind, you can support The COVID Response Team (CRT) “Keep Breathing” campaign, a not-for-profit team of engineers, medical doctors, students and innovators who have come together with the sole purpose of developing a new, open-source, easily manufactured ventilator that will save so many lives throughout this pandemic. 

Get fit, combat cabin fever and raise funds for several worthy causes with this exercise challenge that aims to help you reach 10,000 steps from the comfort of your own home. Register online on Giv2Go.com to set up your profile – €10 for individuals and €20 for families, which goes towards your chosen charity – select a personal fundraising target and choose a charity you’d like to support. From there, it’s time to get creative.

Whether you can dance, run up and down the stairs, hold races for the kids in the back garden or even take that business call as you walk a lap around the garden, every step brings you closer to your goal. Share your progress online and encourage others to donate as you rack up those steps.

One thousand steps can be achieved in a mere ten minutes, so taking a break from your laptop and fitting in a few short bursts of exercise throughout the day is a great way of keeping the mind and body in order while raising funds. Simply switch on your step-counting device, whether that’s a Garmin, FitBit or the health app on your phone, and notch up those steps.

If you have any questions on how to monitor your progress or on how to convert your steps, head to the FAQs section of www.stepupstayput.com/. Don’t worry if you don’t always reach your target – you can make it up another day. And if you forget your phone, apps such as My Fitness Pal will allow you to input exercise manually to calculate your steps.

"Charity, wellness and participation have always been a big part of what we do at Event Fuel. Thankfully we are well set up online with Giv2go.com to deliver a quick response to the current crisis. The team at Event Fuel began innovating immediately on this. We are very proud to play our part for Ireland from home by Stepping Up and Staying Put!" - Brian McDermott - Event Fuel Director

"We came up with the Step Up Stay Put concept as a solution to  cancelled fundraisers. Charities that help people year round are finding it very difficult through these times and people need new goals for exercise. Engagement is a huge part of what we do at Event Fuel and we feel that this challenge will allow people to engage with their chosen charities, keep people and families healthy & motivated whilst raising much needed funds." Jamie Deasy - Event Fuel Director

Giv2Go will be sharing daily online workouts too to help you step up while staying put. Some more ways to reach your target are:

• Find online dance workouts on YouTube – Zumba and step workouts are all great for racking up steps. Alternatively stick on some upbeat music and use a skipping rope.
• Use the stairs! Stair hops, stair crawl, stair press, stair lunges or even just jogging up and down makes for a great cardio workout.
• Increase your strength with some HIIT – why not try jump squats, mountain climbers, and burpees?
• Send the kids running in the garden or around your living space with the pedometer – it won’t be long before some healthy sibling rivalry kicks in!  
• Housework and gardening can increase your step count massively so there is no better time to do some spring cleaning.
• Taking a walk is ok when it's necessary but it is recommended to keep to your own household as much as possible during these times. Of course, if you’re lucky enough to live on a farm or have a big garden, getting outdoors is ideal for this challenge.

How to sign up, input steps, and raise funds:

• Register for Step Up, Stay Put on Giv2Go.com at the Fundraising Events section.
• Select the Individual Option or Family Option. Create your event profile page and title it by your name or family name.
• Select a charity of your choice or if you don't have one, you could consider The COVID Response Team “Keep Breathing” campaign.
• Select your steps target! You can reach one million steps in 100 days or sooner depending on how many steps you achieve.
• Input your steps daily by using the "Update Steps" button on your profile. It's up to you to submit your progress which will show up on the Stepometer.
• Share your steps progress by sharing your Giv2Go profile link on social media with #StepUpStayPut2020 @ Giv2Go to encourage people to donate to your cause.
• Submit proof of your steps weekly to stepupstayput@giv2go.com where your progress will be monitored.

For every 50,000 steps, you'll receive a certificate. For one million steps, you'll get a medal of honour - the race is on!

Need help? Email support@giv2go.com with any questions.

Registration:

Individual: €10 - add your own name to your profile

Family Registration: €20 - add your family name to your profile

This will be donated to your chosen charity.

Event Fuel are running the initiative pro bono in support of all charities and in particular the Covid-19 Fund for Emergency Ventilators.

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