5K A Day For Youth

Robin Carkett and his pup

Everyone deserves to have the tools and skills they need to build confidence and achieve their dreams.

Being able to do that is huge and truly life changing. The mainstream school system is not able to meet the needs of every young person but that’s where Take a Hike is able to give them a place where they can thrive, gain the supports they need and to accomplish things they never thought they would be able to before.

I’ve always been a runner and completed my first marathon a few years ago in support of Take a Hike. I turned 40 over Christmas in 2021 and I was in the UK visiting family and I knew I wanted to do something big for my 40th year. I wanted a challenge, and I wasn’t quite sure what it was yet. I happened to be listening to a podcast and was inspired to run a 5k every day for a year. I mentioned it to my brother who decided to up the ante and bet me £500 to a charity of my choice if I achieved this new challenge. Immediately, I knew exactly what charity I would give to and took him up on the bet. We decided that I would post my run each day to social media to stay accountable and we were on! Running every day takes a lot of discipline and I quickly learned it was more mentally challenging than it was physically. I would have to think about the day ahead and plan my run to make it a reality each and every day.

As I started posting on social media, I would share something positive about my run and after not too long, started to gain a lot of attention from people who were following along with my journey. I was even hearing from people I hadn’t heard from in a while! As my posts started to gain popularity, I started to mix up my routes to show different parts of my community and I started to share about Take a Hike. I was happily surprised to learn that there were a lot of people who dug deep to support Take a Hike. One person even donated a dollar for every run I achieved for the year. It was nice to see how much support I was able to get for Take a Hike and how much I could share about the impact the program was having on youth and people really started to get interested in the program.

To anyone interested in Take a Hike, I would say get involved! Attend an event, check out an alumni video, or learn about the program. Take a Hike is in a lot of communities across BC, and I feel everyone can identify with the work the organization is doing and the achievements of youth in the program.

Young people have changed their lives in the program, and I would encourage anyone to learn about these incredible youth.

Their accomplishments are so impressive!

For his 40th birthday, Robin Carkett took on the challenge of running 5k a day in support of Take a Hike. Robin not only made a huge impact on Take a Hike, but inspired others to learn more and support youth in their communities. Robin raised over $5600 for Take a Hike.

I was introduced to Take a Hike about 6 years ago by a Take a Hike staffer, who was very excited about the work happening and the impact that was being achieved for youth at Take a Hike and she asked if I wanted to get to know about the organization and get involved.

Take a Hike is such a unique organization, I knew very quickly that I wanted to get involved and give back however I could to the mission of Take a Hike.

Something that has always stood out to me is how nature and the outdoors are embedded within the program. I’ve seen the impact being out in nature can have on the mental health of youth and how unplugging and engaging with the land can make a huge difference. Take a Hike supports youth to develop resilience and the skills they need to thrive, and the program gives young people a chance that they might not have received anywhere else.

What I love about Take a Hike is that the program helps kids to develop themselves and achieve whatever might be next for them.

From this, I knew I wanted to help however I could and sometimes it has been a formal role with the organization and other times it’s just me letting folks know about the great work at Take a Hike and what it makes possible for youth.

I was lucky, I had a stable family home and didn’t want for anything. When I reflect on this, I wonder, what if everyone had the same opportunities, where would they be now? You never really know what someone is struggling with and might not have the supports they need.