Eugene aims to walk a million steps in a month for hospital
SPENDING quite a chunk of his working day on his feet, Eugene McGee is a familiar face around town in his work for Fastway Couriers. Loading and unloading boxes and vital deliveries, particularly in these difficult times, it doesn’t take him too long to clock up the steps. It was with this in mind that he decided to take the step to start a major fundraiser for Wexford General Hospital.
Living just outside Foulksmills, Eugene hopes to combine his busy work day a bit of walking in the evening to walk 1 million steps in a month to raise funds for the hospital.
‘I came in from work there one evening and I was out mowing the lawn when my FitBit vibrated,’ he explains. ‘It told me that I had walked the length of New Zealand which is 990 miles or something like that. I had clocked 30,000 steps that day and I started thinking to myself, if I had a euro for every step I took, I’d be a rich man! It was there that the idea for the fundraiser started.’
Having had a health scare himself a few years ago with bowel cancer, which required emergency surgery and saw him spend some time on St Patrick’s Ward, Eugene had always intended to give something back to Wexford General for the wonderful care and attention he received from staff there. Given the current Covid-19 crisis, he feels the timing has never been better.
‘The treatment I got up there was 100%,’ he said. ‘A sister in law of mine is a nurse up there on the Covid wards as well and I ran it by her and she thought it was a great idea. I’m all up and running now and I’m hoping to hit the target within the 31 days.’
Making the most of his contacts through work, Eugene is hopeful of securing some prizes from the Wexford businesses he delivers to and he intends to raffle them off among the people who donate. A target of €5,000 was set and in just two days, he had already cracked the €1,000 mark.
To donate to the cause, please visit www.gofundme.com and search for ‘Eugene’s 1 million steps in May to raise money for WGH’.