Aviation Action, a charity created to support the aviation industry, launched its very first national fundraising campaign which starts next week. It aims to get people running the lengths of 31 great UK runways each day during December in a bid to raise £10,000.
Aviation Action supporter Ian Humphrey has not just signed up to complete this challenge but has decided to complete it in just one day – a total of 66,808m in 24 hours! Ian, Airport Segment Director at Schneider Electric, promised himself that he would come out of the lockdown in a better mental and physical condition than he went into it in March this year and has been running ever since.
Ian said; “Many of us have never experienced such a curtailing of the things we take for granted, being able to see friends and family when we want, go where we like, even buy and eat what we want. Coming from an Armed Forces background and being deployed away from home for extended periods I experienced exactly this. These experiences have really shown me the importance of wellness and a healthy wellbeing so I jumped at the chance to do something that can have a positive effect on the industry I work in. I hope that the Run the Runways fundraising campaign will get people to come together to improve their wellbeing through exercise and regularly achieving a series of small goals.”
Ian works with some of the major airports and has seen first-hand how the pandemic has affected the industry. As a board member of the British Aviation Group (BAG) and Airport Segment Director for Schneider Electric UK&I, Ian has seen colleagues and clients within the aviation sector experience an extremely challenging year, with an estimated 40% of his professional network no longer working in the industry. Ian is also a huge advocate of the importance of physical activity and time outdoors as part of improving his wellbeing, especially as we approach the end of another lockdown. He decided to do the challenge in one day, not across the month as planned, as a personal milestone to mark the journey he has taken as back at the start of the first lockdown Ian could not even run 5k!
Chris Wild, Founder of Aviation Action said; “We wanted to create an event that would raise awareness of the charity whist promoting exercise to improve our supporter’s wellbeing. We had never imagined that one of our fundraisers would attempt this challenge in one day! We are really thankful to Ian for helping us raise funds for people in the aviation industry who are experiencing one of the most challenging years in the careers.”
The Run the Runways campaign has been designed around the many charity Runway Runs that have been postponed this year due to the health crisis and will encourage people to raise funds through sponsorship by running a set runway distance each day. Supporters of Aviation Action will be encouraged to walk, jog or run each day and encourage friends, family, and colleagues to join them.
Aviation Action relies on donations to provide the help and support they provide to people who have had their lives turned upside down in recent months. They run an excellent peer support programme as well as providing professional help with mental health, support for job seekers with CV writing tips and interview preparation sessions as well as online events on a variety of topics from finance advice to building up your resilience.
If you are able to make a donation, however big or small, you will be helping to ensure that the services that Aviation Action provide can be maintained into the future. If you would like to donate, please visit our JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/runtherunways
