Aviva branch manager pushes incubator 26 miles in charity challenge

Aviva south east branch manager Kerry Myles completed a 26-mile walk along the Worthing coast while pushing an incubator to raise money for charity The Smallest Things.

Myles completed the challenge on 29 August, with the 26-mile distance representing the 26 weeks at which her son Alfie was born.

Speaking to Insurance Times, Myles explained that Alfie was born prematurely while she was on holiday in the US, after she was admitted to hospital at 23 weeks pregnant.

“He was really, really sick as a baby,” Myles said, adding that he continued to experience complications linked to his premature birth for several years.

During maternity leave, which coincided with the Covid pandemic, Myles said she felt isolated and began looking for other parents to talk to.

She subsequently found premature baby charity The Smallest Things and began volunteering for the organisation, becoming a trustee in 2022 and later chair of trustees.

Myles joined Aviva as south east branch manager in February 2026 and used her new role to launch a “Make a Difference” campaign, allowing members of her team to nominate charities that were personally important to them.

More than 55 colleagues are now fundraising for eight charities over a three-month period, with the team raising £6,300 in just over eight weeks.

“I kind of felt like I needed to set the example and lead from the front,” Myles said.

“I thought I would take on a fairly big challenge for myself.”

Team fundraising

Myles said the wider team had supported the campaign through cake sales, sponsored walks and individual fundraising challenges, while brokers and former colleagues from across the insurance industry had also contributed.

The charity walk itself proved more challenging than anticipated, with Myles facing hailstorms and winds of around 40mph while pushing the incubator along the coast.

“I think everyone had disappeared because it was just such torrential weather,” she said.

However, she said seeing donations continue to arrive throughout the walk helped keep her going, with around £2,000 raised during the weekend of the challenge alone.

Aviva colleagues receive 21 hours of paid volunteering leave each year, while the insurer’s employee fund matching scheme can match up to £1,000 raised by each colleague per calendar year.

Myles said the fundraising campaign had helped build a sense of community within her new team, while also allowing colleagues to support causes that had played an important role in their own lives.

“The people in my team are absolutely reliant on some of these charities,” she said. “They become their lifeline and people’s support in their times of need.”