Individuals, communities and businesses across the West Midlands are being urged to help transform the lives of the region’s young people in an epic 20,000km fitness challenge.

Birmingham-based charity Sport 4 Life UK’s Rise Up 2026: Turn Movement into Milestones fundraising initiative marks a significant moment for the organisation as it celebrates 20 years of changing young people's lives.

The community-wide challenge invites participants to organise a sponsored walk, run, cycle or swim towards a collective 20,000km target. This distance represents Sport 4 Life’s two-decade journey. Every kilometre tracked symbolises a step closer to a brighter future for a young person in a region where unemployment for 16-24-year-olds remains stubbornly above 20 per cent in some areas.

Since 2006, Sport 4 Life UK has supported thousands of disadvantaged young people to move into sustained education, employment and training. By combining sport with mentoring and skills development, the charity helps young people build confidence, gain qualifications and access real opportunities.

Among the many young people empowered by Sport 4 Life UK is 22-year-old Connor, who left sixth form without a plan for the future. But thanks to the charity's mentoring support, he gained an SIA qualification enabling him to build confidence and "find purpose" through a career in the security sector.

Munira Khalifa, Senior Business Development Manager at Sport 4 Life UK, commented: "During the past 20 years, individuals and organisations across our region have really stepped up to support our work on behalf of local young people. Now, we're inviting people to get behind this special campaign to help us continue that mission, which is needed more than ever in these difficult economic times."

Rise Up participants can set their own fundraising targets or make the "20/20 Pledge" to directly support youth career journeys through one of three different pathways.

Firstly, by pledging £1,000, businesses can kickstart 20 journeys, providing 20 young people with targeted one-to-one mentoring to build confidence and practical employability skills.

Alternatively, by boosting the donation amount to £3,000, it becomes possible to enable 20 young people to earn accredited qualifications aligned with their career aspirations.

Or, power it up to £5,000, and organisations can fund the delivery of a programme of mentoring, qualifications and tailored support to move 20 young people into sustained employment or training.

It’s easy to register for Rise Up 2026 via the link below, where participants can connect their Strava accounts to track movement and create team pages to invite colleagues and friends.

Register here

To get started, visit the sign-up page above or contact Munira for more information at [email protected].