May not ready to retire yet as she plans to take on Kiltwalk
17 April 2025
Threshold Community and Short Breaks support Worker May Dunsmore is not ready to retire yet as she plans to take on the Glasgow Kiltwalk.
May, 66, was due to retire last November but opted to continue working with CrossReach, saying that she still enjoyed working with the people the Short Breaks service supports.
May said: “I took early retirement from being a housing officer at 60 and joined Threshold in 2021 just after Covid. At the end of this month when I do the Kiltwalk I will have been with Threshold Community and Short Breaks for four years.
“The reason for not retiring is that I still enjoy my role as a support worker and to work a bit longer with our customers in the community I shortened my hours.”
Threshold Community and Short Breaks, based in Motherwell, provides support and activities for those with learning disabilities supporting them to live life to the fullest.
May is taking her dedication to new heights later this month when she will take on the Glasgow Kiltwalk on April 26 in aid of CrossReach.
So far May has raised £250 via her JustGiving page.
She said: “Doing the Kiltwalk allows me to give something back to our customers.
“My senior and managing co-ordinator within Threshold Community and Short Breaks promoted Crossreach and the Kiltwalk 2025. When I saw it, my first thought was that this was something that I would be able to do.
“Taking on the Kiltwalk allows me to do something that will benefit our service users and raise funds towards an activity that would benefit everyone.”
May is one of 30 registered people taking on the Glasgow Kiltwalk in aid of CrossReach next weekend. The first walk consists of a 14.5 mile walk from Clydebank to Balloch and will take place on April 26.
On April 27, three walks take place (23 miles, 14 miles and three miles).
May has been putting plenty of work into preparing for the walk, including walks of between eight and 11 miles on her days off as well as getting some help from Threshold customers.
She added: “Also, within my post of support worker, I work with some amazing people who are supported and encouraged to learn new skills.
“For some of the people I support this is exercise and it has worked to the benefit of both the customers and me when they have taken over setting their exercise for themselves and making sure I keep up with them.”
You can still donate to May’s fundraiser on JustGiving.
