Virtual Hike for Hospice Perth County 2020

#VirtualHike4Hospice

Sunday June 7, 2020

6th Annual Hike in Support of the
Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth

New for 2020

Our hike event has changed! While we are unable to hike along the Thomas Orr Memorial Trail (located behind the Stratford Perth Museum) as planned, Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth still needs your support. Funds raised will provide quality end-of-life care in our Hospice home and will support our Community Visiting Hospice Program.

Join us for our Virtual Hike for Hospice on Sunday, June 7th. Rain or shine! Register as a virtual hiker or rally a team* of friends and family, challenge a co-worker, to help raise money for end-of-life care in our community. It's an opportunity to walk, hike or run in your own safe space. It means you can hike from anywhere in Perth County (or literally the world)!

Be unique as you want to be!

No registration fee

T-shirts will not be provided this year.

Beginning April 6th, paper pledge forms will be available for download.

Sponsorship Opportunities are still available.
Contact our Event Coordinator for more details at michellef@rotaryhospice.ca

*Due to the consistently evolving status of COVID-19, we encourage all virtual hikers to review the public health and safety recommendations of your local governments to ensure that you are engaging in up-to-date social distancing practices.

Virtual Walk Ideas:

Here are a few ideas for your virtual hike. Since we can't hike the Thomas Orr Memorial Trail choose your preferred distance at your chosen location. Perhaps an activity below or, get creative and come up with your own idea!* Be sure to share your photos, video or stories of your hike with the hashtag #VirtualHike4Hospice

• Walk 1,312 (1 km), or 3,937 (3 km) or 6,562 (5 km) steps
• Hike 1,312 stairs in your home
• Jump on your treadmill, stationary bike, cross-trainer or rowing machine and record your distance
• Don't forget to walk your pet! Will it be your dog, cow, or perhaps your horse?

Team Challenge Ideas:

Just because you aren't participating together physically doesn't mean you can't still have fun as a group! Challenge your family members, friends and co-workers to do the Virtual Hike with you. Set a fundraising goal together, and organize fun challenges to reach your goal. Don't forget to name your team, choose your team theme and most importantly share your memories by photo or video with the hashtag #VirtualHike4Hospice

• Walk 8 km collectively. That's just 10,000 steps!
• Challenge other teams to see who can complete their goal first. Post your bragging rights using our hashtag #VirtualHike4Hospice
• Host an on-line yoga or exercise (step or workout) class on a chosen date and time. Educate others while working up a sweat for Hospice Palliative Care.
• Don't forget to include your pets. After all, every team needs a mascot!

Note: In order for videos to be posted on Instagram, they need to be less than 60 seconds in length.

How to Submit Funds:

The easiest way to collect funds is to ask supporters to donate online using your personal or team fundraising page. Those preferring to pledge with cash or cheque may wish to drop off the funds in your mailbox or other secure area while we are all social distancing. Once you have your cash and cheques tallied, with our paper pledge form, you can do one of the following:

• Cheques must be made payable to Stratford Perth Hospice Foundation and mailed along with your pledge form to:
  Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth Hospice - 80 Greenwood Dr., Stratford, ON N5A 0J1
  
  
• Please do not send cash in the mail. You can either write a personal cheque for those cash donations, highlighting on your pledge from the name and address of those it is including so that charitable tax donations can be issued directly to the sponsor. Or, you can contact Michelle Field our Event Coordinator at michellef@rotaryhospice.ca to make alternate arrangements.
  
  

*Due to the consistently evolving status of COVID-19, we encourage all virtual hikers to review the public health and safety recommendations of your local governments to ensure that you are engaging in up-to-date social distancing practices.

Thank-you for your support,

Hike for Hospice Committee

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a virtual hike?
⦁ A virtual hike is a hike that you can run or walk in any location (your favorite walking route, on the treadmill, on the track, on trails, in your home, etc). You have the flexibility and convenience of hiking at any time on Sunday June 7, at your own speed and distance. This is your personal hike!

What distance is this hike?
⦁ We decided to make this virtual hike flexible. Since the trail route at Robert Orr Memorial Trail is 1km in length we ask that at a minimum you hike 1km. The maximum distance is up to you. Let’s see how far you can go!

What time will the hike take place?
⦁ Anytime during the day on Sunday June 7th. You get to hike whenever it is good for you or your virtual team-mates. There is no set time.

Why have you decided to do it this way?
⦁ Hike for Hospice is an integral part of Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth and our community. With all of the uncertainty with COVID-19, we felt it would be irresponsible of us to assume that everything would be back to normal on June 7. Instead, we wanted to run this fundraising event, so people can still have a way to support us and also stay active while in self-quarantine, self-isolation or physical distancing. Now more than ever we need to be nurturing nature, exercising and finding unique ways to be socially interactive.

How will you know that I have completed my hike?
⦁ We are encouraging hikers to share their virtual hike experience, including pre-event interactions through your personal social media sites. Feel free to include a message of encouragement or the reason you are participating. Don't forget to tag 'Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth' in your post so that we can capture everyone's moments. Share who you are hiking for or why you support Hospice Palliative Care? Be creative with your posts. Are you walking with your pet? Show us!

I don't have social media but want to share my hike story and experience. How can I still participate?
⦁ Hikers can send their photos and videos to michellef@rotaryhospice.ca and with your permission we can share your photos and videos on our social media channels. If you are creating a video to share please ensure it is 60 seconds in length or less! Otherwise, we cannot share your moment(s) on Instagram.

I want to support hospice but don't want to participate in the hike, what else can I do?
⦁ You can still be a part of our hike by pledging someone who is participating or to the general event itself. Or, visit our website at www.rotaryhospice.ca to learn more about other ways to donate.

The Hike and COVID-19
⦁ Your health and safety is our top priority. COVID-19 is an evolving situation for all of us. We encourage all virtual hikers to check in with their local governments to ensure they’re adhering to the most up-to-date social distancing practices to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
⦁ We’ll miss being able to celebrate this important milestone together, in person. Please be mindful of these regulations at all times and most importantly, be safe.

Hash tags suggested for the event are:

#VirtualHike4Hospice #HikeforRHSP #RotaryHospiceStratfordPerth or @RotaryHospiceStratfordPerth

Don't forget to tag us in your social media posts!

If you have any other questions please reach out by email to our Event Coordinator, Michelle Field: michellef@rotaryhospice.ca

Although our hike will look different this year we can't wait to see everyone's virtual moments. Lets get out and have some fun while supporting a great cause. Now more than ever we need your support. Again, thank-you for supporting Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth.