MORE miles on foot has raised thousands of pounds for the Mary Leishman Foundation after walkers stepped out for the annual 'Dander for Mary'.

And the charity's president revealed that the latest round of fundraising means that they are on target to reach the magical total of £1 million by next year.

This year's event took place from Friday, June 30 to Sunday, July 2, and a group of 25 supporters joined Pars legend and Fife Provost Jim Leishman on the trek along the Fife Coastal Path.

There was a boost at the start of the three-day event when Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay Rotary Club handed Jim and Foundation president Alec Parker a cheque for £3,000.

Following the untimely passing of Jim's wife, Mary, in February 2009 from cancer – aged just 53 and on what was their 30th wedding anniversary – he and a group of trustees set up a foundation in her memory to raise cash for local good causes, with the aims of achieving potential and easing distress.

After setting an initial target of £100,000, those involved with the Foundation continued to fundraise after eclipsing that target and Alec says they've no intention of stopping when they reach the landmark seven-figure sum.

He said: "We've got our Ball for Mary on February 25th and our hope is that we should just about reach £1 million at around the time of the ball. We are a small charity so to achieve that would be fantastic.

"When we started, all we wanted to do was try to raise £100,000 in the first year. But we decided to keep going because everyone enjoys helping loads of local good causes and we've had lots of great feedback from people.

"Jim and the trustees are of the mind that we've made so many friends through the Foundation that we have to keep going. We have no intention of stopping."

Alec was thrilled with the Rotary Club's donation and continued: "Jim and I have helped with a golf day at the Rotary Club and it was a great start to the walk.

"We had around 25 walkers that took part this year, which was about average, and the weather was kind to us. This was our ninth and the total raised will be over £10,000.

"We're planning a big one for next year and we hope to get people who have done the dander before back to do at least part of it."

The Foundation's next event will be a golf day in St Andrews on September 1, where a number of ex-Pars players and the likes of John Hartson, former Scotland boss Craig Brown and Frank McAvennie are among those scheduled to take part.