310,000 Steps in March FAQs

Participants are challenged to complete 310,000 steps in March for Samaritans. The challenge officially starts on Wednesday 1 March and will end on Friday 31 March 2023.

It’s really simple!

• Join the dedicated 310,000 Steps in March Facebook group
• Register for your FREE t-shirt and set up your Facebook fundraiser

Nope, this event is FREE for anyone to take part! We hope you'll use the opportunity to help raise money for Samaritans. All the money you raise will help us reach more people who need our support.

If you don't have a Facebook account or don't want to fundraise via Facebook, you can still take part! Register for your t-shirt and set up a JustGiving page here.

There is no deadline for registering. We’d recommend signing up as soon as possible to avoid disappointment as we have a limited number of t-shirts!

We’re encouraging everyone to make this challenge their own to suit their specific needs and abilities. Here are some alternative challenges you could do:

1. Wheel 30 miles in March – This could be done by bicycle, wheelchair or even with a pram!
2. 30-minute challenge every week or day in March – Take on a crafting challenge like knitting, hold a bake sale and sell 30 bakes or check in with family and friends and practice listening tips and raise awareness of Samaritans. We'd love to support you with your own personal challenge.
3. 30,000 steps in March – Take the step count down to suit your needs. You could do the steps in your house or even count them throughout your normal day.
4. Swim 30 miles in March – This would work out to 1,920 lengths throughout March.
5. Create your own challenge – We’re so grateful for your incredible efforts to ensure that Samaritans are there 24/7. We’ll be there to support you with any challenge that works best for you.

You can keep track of your steps on your tracking poster which you can download here. This is also a great way to promote your progress and share your successes with family and friends, which will increase your fundraising. Don’t forget to post your tracker progress on your Facebook fundraiser too!

Facebook Fundraisers are the easiest way to raise money. You can set up a Facebook Fundraiser in a few seconds and then it's really easy to share the page with your Facebook friends. You can also choose to set up a JustGiving page here

All sponsorship will come directly to Samaritans. You don't have to worry about this. It happens automatically.

You can register for your FREE t-shirt here, please allow 10 working days for it to arrive. If it still hasn't arrived after this time, please email us at [email protected].

Due to the nature of some of the discussion topics, you must be over 18 years old to join the Facebook group. If you are under 18, please email us to find out how you can still take part in the challenge [email protected]

Absolutely not! This is your challenge, so you can do it any way you like. If you’d like to use all 31 days in March to spread out the steps or do more steps over fewer days, that’s absolutely fine. If you have any concerns, please talk to your doctor before taking part in this challenge.

By participating in this challenge, you are agreeing to enter and undertake this challenge entirely at your own risk. Samaritans shall not be liable for any injury. This challenge should be completed however is best for your physical ability.

You can keep going! If you have reached your target, why not do more, and set a new target? You can also keep cheering on the community and encouraging them with their steps.

The only thing that matters is that you challenge yourself. Do as much as you can. Every step helps! This is your challenge, and you can do it any way you like. We’re encouraging #TeamSamaritans to adapt this challenge to suit their specific needs and abilities.

If you have any questions or queries, please email [email protected].

When you have finished your challenge, let everyone who has sponsored you know that you’ve completed it, and send them a big ‘thank you’ for their support. You can also use any of our downloadable graphics to celebrate your success!

Join our dedicated group on Facebook and keep up to date with all the latest steps chat! Just click on the link and request to join. Soon you’ll be sharing stories with our other participants taking part in the challenge!

0%. All donations go directly to Samaritans.

We only ask that you raise as much as you’re able. The target on your page is set to £150, which could fund over 30 calls for help, or support the cost of training three Samaritans volunteers for a year! Your more than welcome to adjust this target according to the challenge you'd like to set yourself!

Gift Aid is a government run scheme that allows charities to reclaim some of the tax that you have already paid to HMRC. Currently, this is equal to 25p for every £1 that you give.

Gift Aid does not cost you any extra and can make your donation worth an extra 25% to us, so it’s a fantastic way of making sure your donations go as far as they possibly can.

There are a few key things you can do to make the most of your fundraising page, including:

• Uploading a photo: This is a great way of personalising your page.
• Setting a target: Doing this is such a great motivator for yourself. It will also encourage others to help you reach your goal and who knows – you might even beat it!
• Sharing your story: Tell your supporters why you are taking part in the challenge and what a difference their donations will make to Samaritans and the people we support.
• Promoting your page: Email a page link to your friends/family and share it through Facebook. This is such a great way to raise awareness of your challenge and kick-start your fundraising.
• Keeping everyone updated: Try to share regular updates and progress pics on your page. Your supporters will enjoy sharing your journey with you and want to know how you’re getting on.

• Pay in online at samaritans.org/pay-in
• Pay in by cheque: Send a cheque made payable to Samaritans to: Samaritans, The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, KT17 2AF. Remember to include your name and address details so we can thank you.
• Pay in by BACS, please transfer to the below details;
  Bank: Lloyds Bank
  Account name: Samaritans
  Account number: 01446634
  Sort code: 30-97-73.
  Please use the unique reference FBMAR2023, so we can track your donation. (please note this will not show in the total on your Facebook fundraising page)
• Pay in directly to your Facebook fundraiser here.
• You can download a sponsorship form here.

As a charity, our ambition is to ensure fewer people die by suicide. Last year, our volunteers spent over one million hours answering calls for help. Your fundraising will help us answer even more of these calls.

For every £1 donated to Samaritans and its branches in the UK and Ireland, 80p goes on our services and just 20p is invested in raising the next £1.

Find out more about why we need your help

Yes, you can! The great thing about this challenge is that you can do it anywhere. Please note, unfortunately we're only able to send t-shirts to UK addresses.

Here’s how to do that:

1. Go to your fundraising page
2. Click “Edit” under the main image and headline
3. Scroll down to the box that says “Set the End Date”
4. Select ... or later.
5. Then click Save in the top right.

Your Facebook fundraising page will close on 14 April. You can edit this by following the below steps;

• Go to your fundraising page
• Click ‘Edit’ under the main image and headline
• Scroll down to the box that says ‘Set the End Date’
• Select ...
• Then click ‘Save’ in the top right

Unfortunately Facebook have recently removed the option to hold a joint fundraiser. We recommend that everyone sets up their own fundraiser here. Alternatively, if you'd prefer to create a group fundraiser, you can set up a JustGiving page here.

All the money raised from the 310,000 steps in March challenge will support Samaritans Central Charity. Find out more about how your support will help.

Unfortunately, we have a very limited stock of t-shirts and will only be able to supply one t-shirt per registered fundraiser.

We share your concerns about the impacts of our events and take our responsibilities on this seriously. This is why we work with suppliers that have suitable ethical policies and working practices in place that cover the whole supply chain, adhering to the Modern Slavery Act and minimising the environmental impact of the goods. The t-shirts contain general charity branding rather than being challenge specific. We hope this will encourage everyone to wear their t-shirts long after the challenge to help raise awareness. This will also allow us to use any t-shirts that are left for our future activities and help us to eliminate as much waste as possible.

The best way for individuals to donate who are not on Facebook is via one of the below options:

1. They can give you the cash or transfer you the funds ( PayPal, Online Banking etc.) and you can add the donation to your fundraiser yourself.
2. They can donate directly to Samaritans via samaritans.org/pay-in if they do this please ask them to put your name and “310,000 steps in March” in the message box so funds can be allocated correctly.

Unfortunately, we can’t issue refunds through Facebook, but donors can request a refund themselves from Facebook by following the below steps:

1. Send them this link: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/162031714239823
2. Select ‘I donated to a fundraiser on Facebook’
3. Select ‘I want a refund for my donation(s)’
4. Select ‘I donated by accident’ and request the refund

No problem, you can find your page here: https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers/manage

Unfortunately, you can't merge the Facebook Fundraiser pages. You can however change the end date on one to close today, so no one sponsors you using that page. If you already have sponsorship on both then you can instead hide one of them so others don't see it and the majority of money goes on one main Fundraiser that you promote. Whatever you decide and even if you close one page early, the funds still come to Samaritans. You can manage your fundraisers here.

We have a range of milestone badges, infographics and other materials available to share you can download here.