Fife dad set for third year of step and football fundraising for diabetes

Darren Mackie, 39, who lives in West Wemyss first got involved with raising funds for Diabetes UK following his seven- year old daughter’s diagnosis with the condition. He hopes his work with the charity will help raise funds and awareness.

Darren explained “I got involved with Diabetes UK when my daughter was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes a few years back. I continued to support them with the Million Step Challenge that it does every year, and then the charity match we had last year and are having again this year. My fundraising goals are just to raise money for the charity and spread awareness as well”.

This will be Darren’s third year taking part in the step counting challenge. Participants are encouraged to take 10,000 steps a day for three months from July 1.

Last year, Darren again took part in the challenge and held a charity football match. His fundraising efforts raised £1000, which was also split with Movember UK – which supports mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

In addition, he has once again brought together a group of friends and family for another charity football match set to be played at East Fife’s MGM Timber Bayview Stadium. The game will be held on Saturday (July 22) with local businesses sponsoring the game.

Darren said: “The game we are having at East Fife is just a bunch of guys who have known each other for years. We’ve all played football together at some point and are just a big bunch of friends and family who are always happy to help. Our sponsors this year are the White Heather in Kirkcaldy and the Kirkcaldy Boot and Mart”.

Darren has set up a fundraising page for the Diabetes UK Million Step Challenge which you can find at: https://step.diabetes.org.uk/fundraising/darren3745

Donations can also be handed into MGM Timber Bayview Stadium on the day. The game kicks off at 10.30am.