Four young Isle of Lewis friends take a million steps and walk their way to £2500

Twins Arran and Lewis Goetz (9), and their friends Charlie (10) and Grace (5) Morrison, all pupils at Sgoil an Taobh Siar in Barvas, were delighted to be able to raise so much money for their chosen good cause – the Matthew Woodman Foundation.

Proud family and friends, and BBC ALBA TV cameras, all turned out to see them complete ‘A Million Steps for Matthew’.

Yet the fundraising quartet have taken all the attention in their stride.

Charlie said: “We’re very pleased. We wanted to raise £500, so £2500 is really good.

“We’d like to thankeveryone for their support and everyone who has made a donation.”

The four friends chose to raise money for the Matthew Woodman Foundation as its a cause close to the hearts of their families.

Matthew, a cousin of Arran and Lewis, passed away on the Isle of Lewis while on holiday at his granny’s house on August 27, 2018.

Matthew was from Greenock, and his parents still live there with their older son Harvey. His mother, Kim Woodman, set up a community foundation in Matthew’s memory.

On August 27 this year, the intrepid quartet set out on their challenge ‘A Million Steps for Matthew’.

The idea of came from Matthew’s final journey from the Isle of Lewis back home to be laid to rest in Greenock.

One million steps equals around 500 miles for an adult, so the families reckon that for a child that might be just over 300 miles – which is roughly the distance from the kids’ homes on the Isle of Lewis to Greenock.

And in just over two weeks, the intrepid quartet completed their challenge to the cheers of a crowd which had gathered to watch them.

Charlie said: “As soon as we got home from school, we’d all go back out again. It was very wet for a lot of the time, but it didn’t put us off.”

Arran added: “We were doing about 25,000 steps a day, and it took us two weeks and two days.

“It’s good to be able to do something to help others.”

Lewis said the challenge had not been too difficult and they had a good time while doing it.

“I was happy we were able to do something to help the foundation, and we had lots of people supporting us.”

Youngest of the quartet, Grace, added: “It’s nice to do stuff to help someone else and it’s very kind.”

Their challenge didn’t just capture the attention of people in the Western Isles.

People in Greenock also got to know about their fundraising efforts, and Greenock Morton Football Club also supported them.

They sent Morton strips to the youngsters – all with Matthew’s name and ‘Million’ on the back – and helped promote their cause.

They also got a mention on George Bowie’s Radio Clyde show.

And they’ve featured on BBC ALBA, who covered the completion of their challenge, including a report on the evening’s news programme.

Donna, mum of Charlie and Grace, said: “They’ve really enjoyed it. They’re always active, the boys are in the same class at school and live across the road, so they play all the time.

“Some of their friends came round for their final steps, and the support they’ve received from everyone has been amazing.

“It wasn’t just about raising the money. It’s got people talking about Matthew and the foundation, and raising awareness of what can happen, and how parents need support when they lose a child.

“The whole village seems to have seen them walking round, supporting them.

“The fire station had a night out and instead of splitting the money they donated it to the kids.

“People we don’t even know have been donating money – the response has been incredible. Greenock Morton have been fantastic too.”

The twins’ mum Kaleigh added: “I’m so proud of them for doing this off their own backs, and for choosing to put the money towards the foundation.

“One million steps seemed like quite a challenge but they’ve taken it all their their stride.”

Matthew Woodman Foundation

Kim Woodman set up the Matthew Woodman Foundation in memory of her son Matthew, who sadly died in 2018.

The foundation’s main focus is to raise money to help the community, improving the lives of those in need and helping make ther world a better place.

So Kim was delighted, proud and extremely grateful when Matthew’s cousins Arran and Lewis, and their friends Charlie and Grace, decided to raise funds for the foundation with their ‘A Million Steps for Matthew’ challenge.

Kim said: “When they first told me what they were doing I thought it was amazing.

“I was so moved, I was crying.

“For kids at such a young age to want to do that, it’s such an inspiration.

“People say to me all the time ‘I don’t know how you can do stuff like this with the community project’ and see when you have kids like Arran, Lewis, Charlie and Grace, and when I actually see what we do helps people, it’s such a huge sense of accomplishment.

“I’m keeping Matthew’s memory alive. And that’s my main goal.”

One of the main aims of the foundation is helping families with premature babies.

The foundation creates ‘Ray of Light’ boxes – including items such as baby outfits, muslin squares, a kinitted blanket and hats and mittens.

But the foundation has helped in many other ways too, providing iPads to maternity units during the Covid-19 crisis, so parents could still see their premature babies.

It has also made donations on the islands, providing a water cooler at the A&E department of Western isles Hospital, and supported Action for Children, donating a bench and sensory equipment.

You can find out more about the Matthew Woodman Foundation at its Facebook page – www.facebook.com/matthewwoodmanfoundation