A month-long, sector-wide movement challenge urging merchants and suppliers to help collectively achieve one million steps throughout March has already hit target with 13 days to go.

When the Rainy Day Trust launched its Mad March Million challenge this spring, the ambition was simple: bring companies across the home improvement and builders merchant sector together, get people moving, and show that wellbeing doesn't need to be complicated.

What happened next exceeded every expectation.

Just 18 days into the campaign, participants have collectively hit one million steps, a milestone that felt as much about community as it did about activity. Teams from across the sector, including Toolbank, IRSAP UK, Builders Merchants Federation, NBG and many more, committed to just ten minutes of movement a day throughout March, with the combined effort raising vital funds for the Trust's work supporting industry colleagues through difficult times.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

The participant reflections share something much warmer and altogether more human. There's the IRSAP team member who, after a stressful day, found that a ten-minute wander in the sunshine "relaxed the mind."

The Toolbank Glasgow participant who dusted off a hula hoop on a rainy morning and discovered they had more energy once it was done. The colleague who told their dogs, Dudley and Dash, that their lunchtime walk was "all in aid of the Rainy Day Trust",  and reported they were "suitably impressed."

There were kitchen discos. There were 4pm desk dances that "made a few people laugh." There was a weekend in Paris where a mum and son climbed the Eiffel Tower by foot, just to add an extra challenge. And there was one participant, out walking in the drizzle after a long drive back from a busy weekend, who dragged themselves outside anyway, because that's what the challenge asked, and they showed up.

Anna Skeats, CEO of the Rainy Day Trust, said: "What Mad March Million has shown us is that when you make wellbeing accessible, no kit required, no fitness level assumed, just ten minutes, people not only engage, they embrace it. The camaraderie across our sector this month has been genuinely moving. These are people who show up for each other, and this campaign has given them a shared reason to show up for themselves too."

The campaign continues until 31 March. There is still time to get involved, sponsor a team or simply spread the word.

To find out more or donate, visit: https://rainydaytrust.enthuse.com/pf/madmarchmillionrdtwellbeingpeople