Employees encouraged to ‘join’ recruitment consultant in Walking Home For Christmas

Businesses, especially those that employ armed forces veterans, are being urged to Walk Home For Christmas in support of former servicemen and women. The campaign, which runs from 9 to 20 December, is the charity Walking With The Wounded’s annual nationwide fundraising walking challenge to support its work across employment and mental health support.

A report from professional services company, Deloitte, estimated there are 700,000 veterans currently in employment, but more than half are in routine, low-skilled or low-paid jobs. While there is a “persistent lack of understanding of the key skills that veterans possess’, 72% of organisations with active ex-military recruitment programmes would definitely recommend employing veterans.

Army veteran, now Recruitment Consultant, Andy Schofield, has taken up the Walking Home For Christmas challenge. This morning (Monday 5 December) the former Royal Military Police Officer set off from the Cenotaph in London and will walk 350km to Manchester, arriving on Friday.

However, employees don’t have to walk hundreds of miles to make a difference to the veteran community. Why not turn the following into sponsored activities:
● Walk to/from work each day instead of using public transport
● Meet and move – business meetings don’t need to take place in the boardroom
● Take a walk at lunchtime rather than eating at your desk
● Organise a walking networking (‘netwalking’) event to get to know your colleagues better

With more and more businesses focusing on corporate social responsibility and aiming to ‘give back’ to society, and so many facing increased challenges this year, it seems an ideal time to be doing our bit.

Alternatively, there’s still time to join one of WWTW’s organised walks. The regional walks are new for 2022, and part of the charity’s desire to bring people together and celebrate community, after some challenging years for all. Each walk has two 10km legs, and participants can join one or both, or walk as far as they feel able to. The first leg starts at 11am, and the second at 2pm.

London
The London walk begins at the Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial near Westminster. Walkers will then head west along the Thames Path (North Side) to Battersea Park and the Thames Path (South Side) before hitting the midway point at Wandsworth Bridge. At 2pm they will start the second leg, again along the Thames Path (North Side) to Central London including Royal Hospital Chelsea, Buckingham Palace and Horseguards Parade, before finishing at the iconic Cenotaph.

Newcastle
The Newcastle walkers will set off from the Walking With The Wounded Forces Support Hub, North Shields, before going along the River Tyne Trail to the mid-way point of Segedunum Roman Fort. The second leg goes along the Hadrian’s Wall Path and River Tyne Trail before finishing at the iconic Cenotaph, Newcastle.

Manchester
Walkers in Manchester will gather at the Walking With The Wounded head office in Canada Street. The first 10km leg is a road walk through the City Centre and taking in the Salford Trail. At the midway point of Drinkwater Park car park walkers can continue if they choose, through the Irwell Sculpture Trail and Salford Trail before finishing at the iconic Cenotaph in Manchester.

The final 10km of the Manchester walk will be particularly special, as it will mark the last part of Andy Schofield’s 350km walk. Andy was spurred on to take on the epic walk having experienced his own challenges with mental health after leaving the British Army where he had served for six years.

Walking Home for Christmas ambassador Levison Wood is a world-renowned explorer, writer and photographer and spent a number of years as a Regular Officer in the British Parachute Regiment, where he served in Afghanistan fighting against Taliban insurgents in Helmand and Kandahar. His military service has seen him deploy on operations and exercises on five continents.

To anyone considering the challenge he said: “Just do it! It doesn’t need to be a huge journey. Even going on a short walk can be hugely beneficial to your mental wellbeing. Remember to look around you while you’re walking, take notice of the small things and try to be present in the moment. You might find that you see place that you normally zip past in a car in a whole new way. Whatever your walking challenge is, I promise you that you will feel great for it.”

If you would like to follow in Andy’s footsteps in Walking Home for Christmas, you can find out more and sign up at www.walkinghomeforchristmas.com