Skip to content

County Durham children raise money for child poverty charity

Sam Rushworth The Rushworth children with their mum, Siobhain, in the Yorkshire DalesSam Rushworth
The Rushworth children took 12 days to complete their 200-mile (325km) challenge

A family has walked from one side of the country to the other in an effort to raise awareness of child poverty.

Sam Rushworth and his children Eden, 13, Amelie, 12, and Jesse, 10, set off from St Bees in Cumbria and reached Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire.

The family, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, completed the 200-mile challenge on Friday and raised more than £1,000 via their JustGiving page.

Recipients Children North East said their efforts were "heart-warming".

It provides support such as counselling and offers free mentoring and equipment to families.

The Rushworths walked 200 miles (325km) through the Lake District, Pennines and Yorkshire Moors after the youngsters read about child poverty during the coronavirus lockdown.

"We were sad to learn how many children in our area experience real worries in their lives, such as holiday hunger or fighting in their home, or their mum or dad being unwell," Amelie said.

"Because of Covid-19, lots of charities do not have enough money to do their work so we decided to do something to raise money that is desperately needed."

'Lost on mountain'

Mr Rushworth, who works in international development, described the challenge as "character-building".

"We had originally intended to do the walk as a relay team, but Eden has made it the whole way. The girls have done lots of it, but they've had bits of rest here and there.

"The worst was in the Lakes when there was really bad rain and it got quite scary as we were lost on top of a mountain going up from Ennerdale over the top of Great Knott and down into Borrowdale."

Siobhain Rushworth Sam Rushworth (second left) with Eden, Amelie and Jesse in front of a waterfall at Keld in the Yorkshire DalesSiobhain Rushworth
A waterfall at Keld in the Yorkshire Dales was among the sights along the way

Mr Rushworth's wife, Siobhain, set up camp for them each night and looked after the family's youngest children, Ezekiel, two, and Kristen, seven.

Catriona Taylor, head of fundraising for Children North East, said: "There is something really heart-warming about children going out of their way to help other children at this crucial time."

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].