Step Challenge Overview

Your body contains 60,000 miles of blood vessels. This September, we challenge YOU to walk 60 miles — one for every 1,000 miles of veins and arteries carrying blood and essential nutrients throughout your body. Walking is one of the BEST ways to protect your vascular health. And this challenge is about more than just steps — it’s about saving lives and limbs.

The Vascular Health Step Challenge raises awareness for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), a serious, underdiagnosed condition affecting over 10 million Americans. Without treatment, PAD can lead to amputation and even death — yet 70% of Americans have never even heard of it.

Why You Should Walk: When you register for just $60, you're doing more than signing up for a challenge, you are fueling a movement!

What Your $60 Registration Powers
• Supports the 2025 VC4U Award, helping deliver vascular care to high-risk, underserved communities
• Promotes your own vascular health, walk 60 miles anytime, anywhere
• Raises awareness of PAD, a life- and limb-threatening disease
• Opportunity to rally support from friends and colleagues through a personal fundraising page
• Includes a limited-edition 2025 Step Challenge hat if you register by August 25

One Gift. Two Powerful Impacts: A portion of every donation supports a VC4U Award — a grant that enables SVS and SVN members to tackle the urgent needs of underserved populations affected by PAD. Plus, this year, through a new partnership with the Foundation to Advance Vascular Cures, proceeds will also support the Patients Are Partners program—making patient engagement authentic, scalable, and transformative.

From mobile screenings in rural towns to outreach in urban health deserts, your steps help fund real care in real places — for people who might otherwise go without. That’s why your participation matters!

How It Works
Unlock Rewards and Giveaways
Step Challenge Scavenger Hunt

New This Year! Connect with fellow walkers and have fun with the Scavenger Hunt Challenge, designed to build community and celebrate your progress. Earn points by completing scavenger hunt activities and posting pictures of your adventures. Each completed post earns you 50 Hunt Points. You can do multiple hunt activities in a day. Complete the challenge and you'll be entered to win one of three SVS Foundation Wellness Bundles. Earn

V is for Vascular

Pose it with your hands, arms, or group in a creative “V” shape!

Post Hunt Pictures

Sunrise or Sunset Snap

Capture the golden hour—early risers and evening walkers unite!

Post Hunt Pictures

Walker’s Best Friend

Share a pic with your four-legged walking buddy! No pet? Get creative—find a pet-themed statue, sign, or store!

Post Hunt Pictures

Step Count Snapshot

Show off your daily steps with a screenshot from your fitness tracker or app.

Post Hunt Pictures

Healthy and Hydrated

Snap a pic of your water bottle, favorite healthy drink, or mid-walk snack to show us how you stay fueled and refreshed on the go

Post Hunt Pictures

SVS Pride

Post a pic with your SVS swag—Step challenge hat, JVS socks, SVSF water bottle, PSO lapel pin, or anything SVS-themed!

Post Hunt Pictures

Favorite Pathway or View

Share a photo of a unique or meaningful place along your walking route—whether it’s a mural, landmark, cool building, or unexpected find.

Post Hunt Pictures

Captured Moments: Explore The Hunt Gallery

Looking for help? Here are our most

Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a virtual fitness and activity event from Sep 1 - Sep 30, 2025. This event aims to bring our community together to stay active while raising funds for SVS Foundation. Participants enroll online and engage in various fitness activities, logging their progress to earn points. They can also participate in fun Scavenger Hunt challenges to earn Hunt Points.
Registration is done online at this link . Sign up and create your personal fundraising page. If you’re part of a team, you can also have your team leader register you or you can select your team during the registration.
Most participants have a primary activity such as walking, running, or cycling. But you may engage in other activities such as fitness classes, water sports, golf, lawn and garden work, and even household chores! Log your activities and the system will convert them into points which we call Footprints. Have a fitness device such Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin, Strava, or Misfit? No problem! Our App will connect with those and convert your steps to miles and Footprints.
Scavenger Hunt Points or “Hunt Points” are a way to fully engage and share your fitness journey with the community. Complete scavenger hunt tasks to earn Hunt Points. Post pictures of your completed tasks to earn Hunt Points which are also converted to Footprints.
Connect a tracker
You can track your workouts by setting up your devices (Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch, Google Fit, Misfit, Strava), or download the Charity Footprints’ iOS or Android app and track your workouts.

From the Charity Footprints App: Select MORE from the bottom right menu. Then Click Device Integrations.

From a web browser (https://www.charityfootprints.com/Vascular): Click on the short menu lines at the top right of the screen and select log in. Once logged in, click on the arrow next to your profile picture to reveal the menu. Click on Devices

Use the Charity Footprints app for run, walk, bike distance
If you don’t have a tracker, the Charity Footprints app has a “Record Workout” option that captures distance for run, walk or bike workouts. Just take your phone along for the trip! On the app, from the home page, scroll down to the green button RECORD WORKOUT.

Manually enter exercise
There is a manual entry option.

From the app, scroll down the home page until you see My Fitness. Click the green Add button.
From the web site, you can upload your workouts here. Select Activities/Workouts from the dropdown menu.
We track alternate activities by time. If you’ve done an alternate workout that is time-based, check our Minutes to Miles chart to record your fitness in miles.
Yes, there is a registration fee of $60. We encourage you to donate optional/suggested amount during registration or you can always donate any amount on your fundraising page after the registration.
Once you register, a link to your fundraising page is provided. Simply set your goals and share it with friends, family and co-workers via email, social networks and word of mouth.
While registering for the campaign, select the team you'd like to join or create a new team and invite others to #GetFitGiveBack with you. If you want to join a team (or create your team) after registration, login to the campaign site and you will find a link to edit "My Team" in the menu under your profile in the header.
All donations are made in US dollars, so the donations may be levied at an exchange rate fee via your bank. Donors will want to connect with their bank to determine exactly what that fee may be. Additionally, international donors will need to reach out to a tax professional to discuss if and how tax deductibility will apply to their donation.
Anyone and everyone! Fundraising research shows that the number one reason for people not donating is that they weren't asked!

That said, there are things you can do to attract people to sponsor you. Adding a picture to your fundraising page, telling potential donors why this cause is so personal to you, sharing your fundraising page on social media, email, and chat groups.

Last, if your employer has a gift matching program, check with the human resources department to support your favorite cause as well.
You can contact us any time if you need help. We love hearing from our users so please don't hesitate to write to us about issues, suggestions, or to just say hi. You can also contact the non-profit administrator directly if you would like.
Charity Footprints is a social enterprise that connects fitness and charitable giving. We empower people just like you, to get fit & give back.


Our Virtual Races allow non-profits to challenge their patrons to run, walk or ride and raise funds just as they would in a fundraising walkathon. The best part - charities save over 45% in event and logistical costs. So, the dollars that you pay to register or fundraise, go farther.