Neurokinex community unites to raise £25,000 to help newly injured people access life-changing rehab

A community of people living with spinal cord injuries, their families and supporters will come together this September to raise £25,000 for specialist rehabilitation through Neurokinex’s annual Step Up Challenge.

The fundraising challenge will see the Neurokinex community unite to help ensure newly injured people can access rehabilitation and support at a time when it can make a significant difference to their recovery.

The charity’s Step Up Scheme provides six free one-hour rehabilitation sessions to people who have recently sustained a spinal cord injury, introducing them to specialist therapy and a community of people who understand what they are going through.

For many, those first sessions provide an important introduction to rehabilitation and the wider Neurokinex community.

However, each place costs the charity £500 to provide, meaning continued fundraising is essential to keep the scheme available to those who need it.

This year, the Step Up Challenge aims to raise enough to fund 50 places.

The challenge will bring together people at different stages of their rehabilitation, as well as the friends and family members who support them.

Together, they will take on a total distance of 269km – the same distance Neurokinex Director Jo Godfrey will walk between the charity’s three centres in Bristol, Hemel Hempstead and Gatwick as part of an eight-day solo challenge.

For Neurokinex clients, the distance will be covered in the Step Up Challenge Week from September 7^th to 11^th at their rehabilitation sessions through a combination of pushing, walking, rowing and cycling. The wider community will then unite for the final stage of the challenge at the Twilight Runway Challenge at Blackbushe Airport on September 12th.

Participants will take on 3km, 5km or 10km along the runway, with family and friends invited to show their support.

Kate Thornton-Jones, fundraising director at Neurokinex, said: “The Step Up Challenge is about so much more than raising money.

“It’s a chance for our community to come together and help make sure that someone who has recently experienced a spinal cord injury can access the specialist rehabilitation and support they need at the start of what can be a very difficult journey.

“We see first-hand the difference that those early rehabilitation sessions and the opportunity to connect with other people can make.

“This year, we’re hoping to raise £25,000 to fund 50 Step Up Scheme places. It’s fantastic to see our clients, families and supporters getting behind the challenge and helping to make that possible.”

The Step Up Challenge will take place from 4-12^th September, with fundraising taking place throughout the week.

The charity hopes the event will once again demonstrate the strength of the Neurokinex community and the difference that can be made when people come together to support those facing a major change in their lives.

Find out more here: https://neurokinex.org/step-up-challenge-2026/

Donations can be made here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/stepupchallenge2026