The team of people – dubbed the ‘Salford Stompers’ – will be taking part in walks around the city of Salford, walking at least 100,000 steps to raise money and awareness for Mind, a charity which provides support and resources for those experiencing mental health challenges.
Cygnet Lodge Salford, on Radcliffe Park Crescent, is a 24-bed high support inpatient rehabilitation (level 2) service for women with mental illness. It is part of the Cygnet Health Care division.
The Occupational Therapy team at the Cygnet Health Care service were exploring ideas of how to make links with the local community when patients said they wanted to do something to raise money for a worthwhile cause.
Donna Ironmonger, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist, explained: “We recognise the positive impact physical exercise has on our mental health and felt our walking group could do with a revamp with the aim of sparking motivation with our patients. We thought linking the two together would be great, becoming more familiar with Salford and also giving back to the community by raising money for charity.
“The name “Salford stomps” was born, as we have the vision all working together, stomping around Salford. “
Patients at Cygnet Lodge Salford voted for the charity they’d like to fundraise for, with Mind being the unanimous choice.
Donna added: “The feedback from both staff and patients was that it is a charity that is “close to home” and held sentimental value to the patients as some of them has used their services in the past and felt passionately about not only raising money for them, but also raising awareness.”
The ‘Salford Stompers’ will be walking once a week, exploring various sites across Manchester. So far, they have visited places such as Peel Park, Kersal wetlands, Worsley Canal, Buile Hill Park and Lightoaks Park.
“Each week, we attempt to beat our personal best score and walk further and further,” Donna said. “The service users also love having the opportunity to spend more time in nature and we have keen photographers capturing our hard work!”
The aim is to reach 100,000 steps by August, with 24,927 steps completed so far.
“The service users are excited about this opportunity and have been enthusiastic about participating and ensuring we get as many steps as we can in,” Donna said.
“Patients have been encouraging each other to take part and have been quite competitive about who will get the most steps!”
To donate, go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/salford-stomps