Community champion Vivien in training for marathon walk to raise cash for 'friendship' bench at beauty spot popular with Burnley and Padiham families

Vivien Storey is clocking up as many miles as possible each morning on the Padiham Greenway in preparation for the 'main event' on Saturday, December 5th, when she will walk the entire length 15 times which is around 29 miles.

She is walking daily to raise awareness of the event and also encourage as many people as possible to join her.

Vivien said: "I am aiming for 15 friends to join me to do one length then I have someone with me for every one.

"I've had lots of offers already so that is amazing."

Vivien came up with the idea for the 'friendship' bench as somewhere for people to go as a place of retreat or if they need to speak to someone.

Many schools have these benches where a child can sit if they feel upset for any reason and their friends' instinct is to check they are ok. The bench will be inscribed and dedicated to suicide victims and the loved ones they have left behind.

Vivien, who is married to Justin and has a son Dale and grandson Frankie (five) said: "The aim is that people see the bench as somewhere to go where they can sit and speak to a stranger if it helps them as it is important to talk.

"It would be absolutely amazing if we could raise the money to do this and hopefully more after it.

"So many people in the world are lost at the moment and more people than we could ever imagine are struggling with life, even though they may have many people in their lives and they may have beautiful families.

"Sometimes talking to a stranger on a day they feel unable to cope could be the difference between having the courage to face another day.

"Many people I know have daily struggles and sadly I have had people I love, and relatives of people I love and friends I have had in my life who found the struggle too hard to bear."

Well known for her outgoing personality and tireless efforts to help people in her hometown of Padiham, Vivien was thinking about the welfare and mental health of others before anyone had even heard the word covid.

2019 saw her successfully launch the Padiham Community Choir after she was touched by stories of many people who felt lonely or isolated due to circumstances or lack of cash.

Offering hugs to choir members to lift their spirits Viv hit on the idea of taking this to a wider audience and Hugs For Free was born. This saw caring Viv and her good friend and choir member, Katie Bourgaise, offer hugs to people to cheer them up, a simple idea that became a huge success.

Launched in the Padiham Tesco store the duo were overwhelmed with the positive response to their idea to reach out to people who may feel sad, lonely or need support. They were invited to visit a number of care homes where they led sing-a-longs and offered hugs to residents and staff to brighten their day. And Katie will be joining Vivien on the friendship bench walk.

The pandemic may have brought an abrupt end to both the choir and the hugs scheme but Viv, who works as a carer at Woodside Home for the Elderly in Padiham and a play leader at Blooming Buds childcare, is not a woman to be kept down and she was determined to reach out to people who may be struggling as lockdown tightens.

The walk is expected to take 13 hours and Viv hopes that people will want to get involved even if they only walk a portion of the route. And anyone who cannot get to the greenway could play their part by walking around their garden, back yard or their own local park.

Vivien has set up a gofundme page which, so far, has raised £225 towards the £3,000 target.

Anyone who would like to donate is asked to click HERE.