Quooker UK managing director Stephen Johnson has just surpassed his ambitious goal of walking two million steps for charity, and has increased his step target in the hopes of raising more funds.
At the start of this month, Johnson set out on his attempt to walk 1,000 miles – or two million steps – in order to raise £50,000 for Grief Encounter, a UK-based charity that supports bereaved children.
For each day in August, Johnson pledged to walk at least 46.3km, in an homage to the estimated 46,300 children in the UK who face parental loss each year. Johnson has consistently walked an average of 70,000 steps each day this month in order to meet his target.
Johnson confirmed via LinkedIn that this he passed the two million step mark on his journey this afternoon. However, instead of stopping, he has decided to increase his goal, which will see him continuing the walking challenge into the final day of August.
In a video message, Johnson said: “I’m not going to stop – I’m going to carry on. I’m going to walk 2,460,300 steps.
“But why have I picked that figure? In the UK, every year there are 46,300 children that suffer a parental death, and I want to make a difference to those children. So please, please, as I enter the final day and a half of this ridiculous challenge, help me raise the much needed £50,000 for Grief Encounter.”
At the time of writing, Johnson has managed to raise more than 75% of his total fundraising target, with only £12,175 left before hitting his goal. Johnson is accepting donations on his JustGiving page, which can be found here.