Wales invited to take part in ‘Steps for Connection’ walking challenge to support single parent families

Jules Millward

People across Wales are being invited to take part in a new walking and fundraising challenge this March, as Single Parents Wellbeing (SPW) launches Steps for Connection – a Wales-wide initiative aimed at raising awareness of single parent families and funding vital wellbeing and community support.

Steps for Connection encourages individuals, families, workplaces and community groups to get moving throughout March, walking in their own way while helping to reach a collective goal of 161,000 steps – one for every single parent family in Wales. Alongside the walking challenge, SPW is aiming to raise £10,000 to support its peer-led work with single parent families across Wales.

There are over 161,000 single parent families in Wales, yet they remain one of the most under-supported and overlooked groups. Many face isolation, financial pressure and stigma, often with limited access to community-based support.

Co-founded by single parent and campaigner Amy Holland, Single Parents Wellbeing began as a small walking group, created to give single parents a chance to get outside, talk and connect with others who understood their experiences. What started as a simple idea has since grown into a Wales-wide community interest organisation, now supporting thousands of single parent families and young people through peer-led wellbeing support, workshops, community events and connection.

That founding principle – walking side by side and building connection – sits at the heart of Steps for Connection, which takes SPW’s origins and scales them up into a national challenge designed to raise awareness, reduce stigma and fund vital support.

Speaking about the launch of the challenge, Amy Holland, CEO of Single Parents Wellbeing, said: “Like many community organisations, we rely on fundraising to keep our support going. This challenge is vital in helping us sustain and grow our offering so single parent families across Wales can continue to access when they need it most.

She added: “Single parent families make up a huge part of our communities, yet they are often invisible when it comes to support. This challenge is a way for people across Wales to show solidarity, raise awareness and help fund our work that so many families rely on.”

Steps for Connection is designed to be inclusive and accessible, with participants encouraged to take part in whatever way works for them – whether that’s on the school run, during lunch breaks, at weekends, or as part of a workplace team. All movement counts, including walking, wheeling or cycling.

The challenge runs throughout March, with a community walk planned on 21st March to mark Single Parents Day, bringing participants together in Bute Park, Cardiff to walk side by side.

Amy added: “Every step taken and every pound raised helps ensure single parents and their children can access support, connection and community. We want families across Wales to know they are valued, supported and not alone.”

Find out more and sign up here.