I have decided to walk from Manchester to Walsingham in Norfolk in July 2024 to raise money for the Hummingbird Project, which delivers positive psychology interventions to schools in Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside.

Manchester-based charity MedEquip4Kids has raised over £25 million to provide vital lifesaving equipment for hospitals and community health services. In 2017, after seeing the alarming rise in mental health problems in our children, Chief Executive Ghazala Baig and fundraiser Catherine North decided to see whether the charity could help. In partnership with the University of Bolton, the Hummingbird Project was born. The project delivers hour-long sessions over a six-week period to children in primary and secondary schools , including topics such as character strengths, gratitude and kindness.

To date over 5,000 children have benefited from the course. Academics have since joined the project research team from the University of Chester, and most recently, the Open University. I believe that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. If we can intervene before problems develop, we can transform the lives of our young people. My idea of the 180-mile walk was born when I started articulating the concept of "We are what we give. We derive so much more life satisfaction from giving than receiving." I am backing myself; I have started the fund with a £2,500 personal donation. I will also be covering all my own expenses, so the money raised will all go to the charity. For only £50 you can ensure that a child benefits from the six-week Hummingbird Project. We owe it to our children to give them the best possible start in life.