Miles for Refugees is a charity fitness challenge raising money for the British Red Cross’ work supporting refugees in the UK and around the world.

Participants have 30 days to run, walk, cycle, use a wheelchair, swim or do any other activity they choose in order to complete one of 6 possible distances. Each distance is based on a common route refugees take to reach safety. The 2023 summer event closes at the end of July 2023, when everyone taking part must have collected all of their donations, and logged their distances.

Signups are currently closed, but will reopen again later in 2023.

Registration for Miles for Refugees 2023 is open between April and the end of June, with participants having until the end of July to log their distances and collect donations.

Registrations for the summer event are now closed, but entries will reopen again later in 2023.

Miles for Refugees is a virtual event which means you can take part wherever you are at a time that suits you, whether it’s a weekend cycle or walking home from work. Just make sure you record the distance you've completed and add it to your personal fundraising page so you can track your progress.

Registrations for the summer event are currently closed, but will reopen later in the year.

Children under 18 are able to take part, but we ask that a parent or guardian register for them as there are terms and conditions to approve.

If a child taking part is under 16 and fundraising offline, we ask that a parent or guardian be in charge of any money raised. This is in keeping with recommendations by the UK Fundraising Regulator.

We're happy to send pin badges and certificates out to thank our younger supporters for all their amazing work, please email us to request these.

There is a £10 registration fee to join Miles for Refugees, which you will have to pay online when you sign up.

We also ask that you aim to raise a minimum of £150 through sponsorship, however there's no additional cost if you don't raise this much. We understand that everyone's circumstances are different, and ultimately any amount you raise will make a valuable difference to our work.

However you fundraise you won't be alone. We’ll be supporting you all through the campaign to help you reach, and maybe even beat this target! If you do raise £150 or more you'll receive an exclusive event medal from us, as a thank you for all your hard work.

It's not possible for you to change your chosen distance after you've joined Miles for Refugees. If you've completed your distance and would like to go further, we'd suggest you update the title or story of your page to let people know your new target.

Of course! You're welcome to take part, and adapt the challenge however you like to suit your needs. 

You can take part in a wheelchair or using other adapted equipment such as a handcycle, all of which can be recorded and uploaded to your page either manually or through linking your Strava app. If you use equipment or take part in a way that's not included, either using Strava or through the manual options on your page, then you can choose the activity that's closest and write details of what you did so people who visit your page can see.

We're working to make Miles for Refugees as accessible as possible, so if you are taking part in a way not currently supported by our activity update features please let us know. We'll then discuss with JustGiving getting this added for future events.

It’s not possible currently to add your own custom distance or route, as the routes chosen have been designed to highlight key refugee routes and enable us to tell the individual stories of people from those areas.

There are six distances to choose from, varying from 22 miles to 555 miles, so whether you’re a seasoned runner or just looking for a reason to get back on your bike, there’s something for everyone!

Yes!

We're happy to have people all around the world take part in Miles for Refugees, reflecting the international nature of the Red Cross movement.

Please be aware that the sending of t-shirts, Miles for Refugees medals and other items will be delayed if you are based outside of the UK.

Yes you can! When registrations open you'll need to sign up online as an individual, and once this is complete you'll have the option to create a new team or search for and join an existing one. A video guide on how to do this is available on our Community Resources page.

All members of a team need to be doing the same distance in order to be joined together on a team page, and it is not currently possible to donate to a whole team, only individual pages.

If you want to take part as a group and have a single page for all of you that's fine, you'll just need to sign up once to secure your page and all total your miles towards a single total on this page. Please note, medals are sent out to individuals who have raised £150 so for all team members to receive one your fundraising total will be £150 x number of team members taking part.

We're happy to send other thank you items out if you don't raise £150 each, such as refugee designed tote bags or pin badges - as any amount of money raised will make a difference to our work. Please email the Miles for Refugees inbox for more information about team rewards.

We ask everyone taking part to aim to raise at least £150. 

The best way to raise money is to keep sharing your fundraising page. Sometimes a personal touch such as an email or text message asking for support can help as well.

We’ll be contacting you all through the campaign with fundraising tips, and you can also download fundraising resources from the Miles for Refugees website.

If you don't manage to raise this amount, however much you do raise will still make a difference to our work. £5 is enough to buy a blanket for a refugee, £2 provides safe water to drink. We understand everyone's circumstances are different, and simply ask that fundraisers do the best they can.

The campaign will close at midnight 31 July and no donations can be received online after this date.

You can still pay in offline funds after this deadline, but please try to get it to us by the end of July if you can so we can send round a fundraising total to everyone who took part.

If you're doing any fundraising offline, you can download an offline sponsorship form here. Information on how to send offline money to us can be found here. For security reasons, please do not send cash by post.

All money donated to your Miles for Refugees fundraising page is sent to us automatically, safely and securely. We also get the Gift Aid from donations, which adds an extra 25p to every pound your supporters donate at no extra cost to them!

You can find details of how to pay in offline sponsorship here.

Once the event starts on 1 June you'll be able to sync your page to your Strava account, and have publicly visible activities automatically post onto your fundraising page.

Videos on how to connect your Strava account or add distances to your page can be found on our community resources page.

Once you've signed up, go to Miles.RedCross.org.uk and login, then click the 'Edit Page' button at the top right of your screen. You will see an option that says 'add fitness' and here you can link your Strava account with JustGiving.

While you're logged in you can also find a Connect Strava button visible on your fundraising page, beneath the reward badges.

If you are having trouble adding your miles please email help@justgiving.com.

If you’re using a tracking device to record your miles, you can sync it automatically to your fundraising page through the Strava app. This option is only available in June and July.

Videos on how to connect your Strava account or add distances to your page can be found on our community resources page.

Once you've signed up, go to Miles.RedCross.org.uk and login, then click the 'edit page' button at the top right of your screen. You will see an option that says 'add fitness' and here you can link your Strava account with JustGiving.

You will only be able to complete setting up your JustGiving and Strava integration after 1st June, when the event month is underway. Until then, this will not be an option.

Of course!

You can add miles manually to your page without having to use Strava anytime between 1 June and midnight on 31 July when the event closes.

Once you've signed up, go to Miles.RedCross.org.uk and login, then click the 'edit page' button at the top right of your screen. You will see an option that says 'add fitness' and here you can manually add activities you've completed to your page.

You won’t be able to add activities until 1 June, but once the event has begun, you'll be able to log into your page and add your miles using the 'add fitness' feature.

Instructions on how to create or join a team are available on our Community Resources page.

Team pages allow people to take part together, with the amount each person has raised and the miles they've completed all brought together for a team total.

Please note, all team members must be doing the same distance in order to have a shared team page.

If you'd prefer to all take part using one page, with a distance target you all reach together then one person will have to sign up to have that page created. You can then edit it to include information about team members and really make it your own. We've found in the past it's best if one person is nominated to keep track of everybody's miles and add them regularly to the shared page.

We ask that every person taking part in Miles for Refugees, individually or as part of a team, do their best to raise the £150 sponsorship target, and this is required in order for them to receive a Miles for Refugees medal.

Any amount you raise will count however, and if you aren't able to raise the total needed for the medal do please get in touch and we'll gladly send team members a thank you tote bag, badge or card from us to thank them for all their work. We can provide clean water for just £2, or a blanket for £5 so any amount does make a difference.

Only the person who created a team can edit the team page. Simply login at Miles.RedCross.org.uk, go to your fundraising page and select Edit Page. You can then change your team name, fundraising target or story as well as add photos by selecting the Team menu.

The easiest way is to share your team page, where people will see a button inviting them to sign up and join.

When people choose Join a Team, either from a team page or their Edit Page menu they’ll also have the option to search for your team by name and join that way. Try to make sure your team name is something unique, to make it easier to find.

All members of a team must be doing the same distance in order to join a team page.

Simply go to Miles.RedCross.org.uk and login. Then click the Edit Page button in the top menu. The box that opens includes a Team tab you can use to create your own team, or search for an existing one to join.

You must be doing the same distance as all the other team members in order to join a team.

Simply visit your personal Miles for Refugees fundraising page, and look for the red Team Details box. From there you’ll see a dark red button saying View Team that’ll take you straight to your team page.

Login at Miles.RedCross.org.uk and open the Edit Page menu. The Leave Team option is available under the Team menu.

Absolutely!

If you’re looking to organise a charity fundraising event as part of your corporate philanthropy work then Miles for Refugees is a great way to do this!

The event is flexible, so people of all fitness levels can take part and collect their miles anyway they like - from walking, to wheelchairs to swimming or even rollerskating. Virtual events are also a great way to build relationships between teams, particularly those with some colleagues working from home. The event also encourages people to take part and get active throughout an entire month, which encourages the building of healthy habits.

There are a couple of ways you can take part as a company.

Individual staff can sign up and join their pages together under a company team page, or you're welcome to sign up once and have everybody add their miles and fundraising together on a single page. Our longer routes such as 555 miles from Turkiye to Croatia make a great shared target!

For pages to all be joined together with a team page, all team members will have to be doing the same distance. There is also no way currently to donate to a team page, only individual fundraising pages.

Please contact us for more information about fundraising as a company through Miles for Refugees.

If you want to match donations your staff have received for their Miles for Refugees fundraising, please contact the Miles for Refugees team at milesforrefugees@redcross.org.uk and we’ll provide you with any information you need.

We’re always happy to speak to companies about how they can support Miles for Refugees or any other part of our work.

Please contact the team at MilesForRefugees@redcross.org.uk and we’ll be in touch to discuss how Miles for Refugees can fit into your company's corporate social responsibility work.