The annual Fun Walk took place as a virtual event through September with 85 organisations registered and an estimated fourteen hundred participants walking to raising money for good causes.
With sponsorship money now in, the organisers are delighted to confirm that this year’s walk has raised over £103,000, bringing the total raised since the event began in 2002 to over £1.2 Million.
Many organisations found it was a positive way to connect with their teams and supporters during lockdown. Sophie Ede, Chief Executive Officer at Hearing Help Essex said:
“Not only has it provided a much needed fundraising opportunity for us during a difficult year, but it really brought our team together, exchanging our weekly mileage and motivating us to keep fit during September!
Sam Tandy, Community Fundraiser at SNAP said:
“We missed not being able to attend in person, but our families all enjoyed taking part. We actually added up the distance we collectively travelled and between the SNAP staff and our families we reached Lapland!… Now more than ever every donation really does go a long way in helping us support local families who have a child or young person with any special need or disability.”
John Baron, Chair of The Fun Walk Trust Committee and Trustees said:
I am so pleased that we made the decision to go ahead with a virtual event this year, and we can’t thank our sponsors enough, as they generously contributed to the Bonus Pot, allowing us to add 30% to every pound raised by participants. Our thanks go to Swan Housing Association, Tunnelcraft, Anisha Grange Care Home, Butyl Products Group, Leonardo MW, IFE Global Logistics, McDonald’s Restaurants Basildon and others. I would also like to thank BBW CVS and home team for this tremendous success.”
About The Fun Walk:
John Baron MP and his team started The Fun Walk in 2002 to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and raised £6,000 for six charities and projects. The event became an annual one and continues to grow.
To assist with its growth, in 2013 the Fun Walk became a registered Charity and it is now officially known as The Fun Walk Trust (Registered Charity number: 1151626), and in 2019 Basildon Billericay and Wickford CVS were appointed to administer the event on behalf of the Trustees.
John continues his role with the charity as Chair of the Trustees and by soliciting support and sponsorship from local businesses. The BONUS POT is a unique feature of the event, into which local businesses and individuals kindly donate and which is then distributed to participating organisations on a pro rata basis and in addition to the monies they themselves raise in sponsorship.
The Fun Walk Trust organises the walk and takes care of all the paperwork, leaving the projects free to focus on raising sponsorship money and enjoying the event. The event is not confined to charities, any good cause or project may join us once approved by the Trust. For example, many pre-schools and schools, churches and community groups now regularly participate.
For 2020, in the light of the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the recognition that our local charities and good causes need our help more than ever, the decision was made to hold a virtual event that ran through September.
