From Leicestershire to Lapland – Rise schools complete epic virtual mission to raise money for a children's hospice
Schools from across Rise Multi Academy Trust have taken part in a virtual mission to collectively run the distance from the heart of Leicestershire to the top of Lapland while raising funds for Rainbows Hospice for children and young people.
In total, over a thousand pupils and staff from across Rise’s network of schools put on their Santa hats and trainers to take part in runs around their school communities. By adding the distance that every individual completed together, they collectively ran over 2200 miles.
Mark Cole, CEO of Rise, said: “This was an epic mission on every level, and our children and colleagues should be applauded for the spirit that they entered into this challenge.
“Most of all though, this showed our children what can be achieved when we work together. Individually their efforts are impressive, but when all of these efforts are combined the outcome is something special.”
Each school logged the distance that children and staff at their schools covered, and this was then added to a virtual route that went to the south of England, through northern France, across Netherlands, into Germany then up through Denmark and Sweden. They then crossed into Finland before reaching the home of Santa himself..
Schools could log on to the virtual tracker to monitor their collective progress – and get a quick geography lesson at the same time.
Mr Cole added: "Our motto as a Trust is to “flourish and succeed” and our children not only achieved their goal but also loved working together. This was such an important team effort for such an important cause.
It is expected that up to £4000 will be raised for the hospice as a result of their efforts.
Gary Farnfield, Rainbows Community Fundraiser, praised Rise and its schools for their efforts to raise funds for Rainbows.
"We are delighted that Rise's schools have completed the Leicestershire to Lapland challenge! How they have worked together to support our vital work has been heartening and really brings home the spirit of the festive season.”