Words by Smiley Team
555 miles. This is the distance Syrian refugees travel from Izmir in Turkey to the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. You can help improve their prospects upon arrival by travelling this distance yourself.
Starting from September 1st, fundraisers will be picking from six different journey lengths to cover by foot, bicycle or any other means that takes their fancy as part of the Miles for Refugees challenge. The distances start at 22 miles - the distance across the English Channel - and build up to 555 miles.
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The project manager for Miles for Refugees, Maddy Janes explains how it offers people a choice: “This fundraising event is an opportunity for people to choose how they react to the refugee crisis - whether or not they act in solidarity and show their support by welcoming people in need.”
All funds raised will go to the British Red Cross, the largest provider of refugee services in the UK. Their staff will use the money to supply displaced people with support ranging from basic essentials such as food and hygiene packs to career advice, or mental health support, all the way through to helping reunite families in the UK.
Thousands of supporters have already signed up for the challenge, with varied reasons for participating. Maddy says: “Some people are doing it purely for fitness. Others are joining in because this is an issue they care about passionately, and they believe we need policy changes around the process we use to grant asylum to refugees. Meanwhile, others are joining simply to show their support for these people fleeing disaster to find a better life elsewhere.”
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The event brings everyone together to build momentum for driving positive change. “The challenge helps create a community of people who have shared interests,” she says. “People can sign up as a team but even if you're participating solo, you get the feeling of being part of a bigger group coming together to do something important.”
Kicking off in September, it offers supporters the chance to swim, cycle, run or even skateboard to collect money for people in need. The Red Cross will automatically set up a fundraising page for you upon registration and will send content to share on social media, making it easy for you to spread the word about your endeavour.
Each entrant has a fundraising target £150 to aim for, all of which will go to refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK.
It’s easy to get involved. Just head to miles.redcross.org.uk and sign up to one of six distances.
