This year’s Fun Walk had over 70 local charities and community groups registered and an estimated 2,000 supporters took part in sponsored walks across Essex, including once again the team from Phoenix FM.
The participating organisations are currently collecting their Sponsorship Money and the Fun Walk team is set for a grand reveal of the amount raised at their Celebration Evening on Nov 24th.
The Fun Walk Trust helps charities, local schools and churches, grass roots sports teams and other community groups raise funds for their projects and initiatives, and a bonus pot from local businesses tops up the amount each organisation raises themselves.
John Baron, MP and Chair of the Fun Walk Trustees, said:
“We are delighted with all the photos we have received of people taking part and are happy to share some of the highlights.”
“We remain truly grateful to the local businesses who have chosen to support the local community through a donation to this year’s Fun Walk Bonus Pot. They include Swan Housing, IFE Global Logistics, Greater Anglia, Reactive Integrated Services, Anisha Grange Care Home, Butyl Products Group, Tunnelcraft, Mr Barrie Stone and others.”
For more photos and information please visit the Fun Walk website.
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). In 2019 Basildon Billericay and Wickford CVS was 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 in addition to the monies they themselves raise in sponsorship.
With the generous support of our Bonus Pot sponsors, in 2022 the Fun Walk Trust was able to provide a 40% bonus over and above the amount raised by participating organisations through their own sponsorship efforts, with the event raising a total of £94,437 for local charities and community groups. The amount raised in 2022 brings the total raised to £1,450,000 since the Fun Walk’s inception.
The Fun Walk Trust organises the walk and takes care of 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.
In 2020, given the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the recognition that our local charities and good causes needed our help more than ever, the decision was made to switch to a virtual format, allowing supporters to walk the distance anytime during the selected month. This proved to be very successful and so will be continued for 2023.
