Heartbroken pals dotted all around the world are aiming to raise funds for Pieta House by taking a million steps in one day for their one in a million Dublin friend.
In May 2017, their lives changed forever with the tragic and sudden loss of their dear friend Sarah Jane Branagan.
In honour of the young Skerries woman, 15 members of 'Team SJB' will undertake the 'One Million Step Challenge' on Saturday 23rd May, giving themselves a time frame of just 24 hours to complete it.
To ensure they reach their goal, five members of the group have committed to walking 100,000 steps on the day - the equivalent of 80km each.
The members of the team are living all around the world with people from Dublin, Vancouver, Toronto, San Diego, Sydney, Beijing all lining out to take part.
And they are also inviting you to get out and walk for your one in a million by donating, uploading a picture and tagging their instagram page using the hashtag #oneinamillion.
Pieta House relies on the generosity of the public as donations and fundraising make up over 80% of their income.
Sadly, the current pandemic has saw their services taking a hit especially following the postponement of their annual Darkness Into Life.
That's why Team SJB have decided that all donations raised for their challenge will go directly to charity.
So far they have reached a staggering €13,000 of their €20,000 target but they are urging the public to give as much as they can so that they can smash their goal.
They said: "In May 2017, our lives were changed forever with the tragic and sudden loss of our dear friend Sarah Jane Branagan. She can only be described as one in a million.
"Sadly, our story is not unique. Suicide has become one of the leading killers of young people in Ireland today.
"If you knew Sarah or even if you didn't and would like to have your steps included in the final count on the day, you can dm a picture of your steps to @onemillionstepsforsarah on Instagram or email your steps to onemillionstepsforsarah@gmail.com.
"For those of us living in the same area, we will all be ensuring to follow social distancing rules while walking.
"Pieta provides free therapy to those engaging in self-harm, those struggling with suicidal ideation or bereaved by suicide.
"All the donations from this challenge will go directly to Pieta to enable them to continue carrying out the superb service they provide to every community around the country.
"Please donate what ever you can, no donation is too small - all fundraising income is used to directly support people with therapy who may be engaging in self-harm, struggling with suicidal ideation, or bereaved by suicide."
You can follow their journey on Instagram and if you would like to donate or find out more about the challenge, their fundraising page can be found here.
