Staff and residents at Cygnet Lodge Woking have gone the extra mile – literally – for mental health, completing a 929-mile challenge to raise funds for charity.

The Cygnet Challenge, which ran from August 4 to 18, saw colleagues and individuals supported by the 31-bed acute and high-support inpatient rehabilitation service walk a total of 929 miles, surpassing their initial goal of 500 miles. The campaign raised £110 for Sport in Mind, a charity that uses physical activity to support people experiencing mental health challenges.

Ryan Childs, a Mental Health Support Worker at Cygnet Lodge Woking, encouraged participation and helped track the daily progress.

"It was a great chance to give the people we support more opportunities to exercise both on site and also out and about in the local community,” he said. “I’m very proud of the team. Everyone enjoyed the challenge and the individuals we support had fun being outdoors and finding new routes and nature trails to explore in the local area. Some service users would borrow a pedometer each day and log steps by walking around the gardens at Cygnet Lodge Woking.”

The team’s effort earned them second place across all Cygnet Health Care and Cygnet Social Care sites for distance covered. George Willard Ward, the acute service for men, topped the leaderboard with 370 miles.

Ryan added: “We worked alongside our Activities Coordinator Oumayma to keep everyone motivated with daily mile updates. There was definitely a competitive streak with our team comparing steps every day. We had a small games hamper to gift to the ward that clocked the most miles, which was George Willard Ward.

“It was amazing to be able to help both service users stay active whilst also raising vital funds for a charity that helps those struggling. That was really important to us.”