With more of us being asked to #stayhome for longer than ever before, the coronavirus lockdown is taking its toll.
We’ve put together some ideas for you to relieve the boredom and frustration. You can do these as your own challenges, or raise money for charity, too!
Emergency funding appeal
Domestic abuse has increased as everyone has been urged to #stayhome during the coronavirus pandemic. This means more demand for our specialist mental health services.
We are facing a funding shortfall of £100,000 and urgently need to raise at least £40,000 over the next eight weeks.
It is highly doubtful that we will receive any of the recently-announced Government funding – which is why we need your help more than ever, to ensure that women can get the vital support they need.
With the kids
Many of us are juggling full time childcare in addition to work and other responsibilities as we #stayhome. With no school, no visiting family or friends, or even going to the park, the lockdown can be especially hard for children. Even those who are too young to understand what is really happening. Here are some ideas to keep children – young and old – occupied. You can be creative and active together. Or, leave the kids to it while you supervise from afar.
Sports challenges
Set an outrageous challenge – and break it down into smaller, daily targets.
Here are some ideas:
– keepie uppies
– a skipathon
– hoops scored
– a one mile virtual relay
– press ups
Creative fun
Get the kids (and the adults!) to put on a play, have an online disco or party; stage a virtual variety performance; or show off their musical skills with a concert.
They can also take part in a Bake Off style challenge with friends and family, scoring each other out of 10.
Ruth’s story
Meet our nine-year old fundraiser, Ruth! Ruth set herself a target of 1000 chinups during the month of April.
She also had a goal of raising £1000 to support our work. See if she’s made her target, yet…
With family, friends, and colleagues
We may not be socialising, working, exercising, or even volunteering the same way – but there are still things we can do while we #stayhome together.
Family time
Get into pairs or teams and play games and quizzes online, or against each other.
Take part in a relay, with everyone completing a sponsored one mile walk, jog or run.
Have a clearout and see who can raise the most money by selling things you no longer need on eBay (you can choose to donate a percentage of your profits directly to a charity).
Or get together over FaceTime, WhatsApp video, or Zoom for #stayhome Sunday lunch – and donate what you would have spent on a meal to charity.
Friends reunited
The lockdown doesn’t mean you have to stop socialising!
We’ve heard of virtual bookclubs and film clubs (with people donating their coffee or wine money to charity).
See who is the best chef with an online Come Dine With Me competition. Or, how about a catch up with friends over video having a socially-distanced coffee morning?
There are party apps and Mojito Mondays can still happen, just over video instead of in person.
While you work
If, like us, you’ve been working throughout the lockdown, there are things you can do with your colleagues to help you all feel more connected.
Arrange a team coffee round or choose a different charity and donate your week’s coffee money. If you’re saving on your commute, consider pooling the money together for a treat, or picking a charity to support.
Have a Dress Up Friday (for a change!) or a collection jar for those never-ending Zoom meetings – pay in every time there’s an unexpected interruption or someone loses their internet connection.
To keep active
Keeping moving and giving yourself regular breaks is a good way to maintain your physical health, your mental health, and your attention span. There are exercises – even team events that you can do, whether you #stayhome, or as part of your daily exercise away from the house. Just make sure you keep a safe, social distance from other people.
Your challenge, your way
Some people are taking the lockdown in their stride…literally.
Laura and Holly decided to use their daily exercise and walk around their local area, and their flat, til they’d walked the equivalent length of the River Thames.
That’s a whopping 454080 steps, 215 miles, or 346km!
Is there a trail, walk, or run you’ve always wanted to try?
The 2.6 challenge
For many people, the London Marathon is an annual event that they spend all year training for, if not longer.
Due to the pandemic, this year’s event was cancelled – meaning lots of people lost out on the big day. And lots of charities lost out on vital funding.
Marathon organisers soon re-shaped the day into the twopointsixchallenge. People from all over the UK are coming together as virtual teams and taking part in various fundraising challenges – including our very own #team26miles!
From beginners to gamers
If you’ve never run before and always wanted to get into it, the Couch to 5K programme and app is specially designed for beginners.
A mixture of running and walking, it helps you build up gradually to a full 5K run.
And if you’re a regular runner, there are apps with different scenic virtual routes for the treadmill
…or you can even take part in an online race with zombies! More information here.