Fun Walk Registration now open
At a Charity Sector event last week held by BBW CVS, the Trustees met with the Deputy Leader of Essex County Council, Louise McKinlay to promote the Fun Walk and were also there to encourage organisations to register for the September Fun Walk.
The Fun Walk Trustees Sylvia Kent, Christine Brewster and Sandra Bastow met some of the amazing organisations that the Fun Walk has helped, and also talked to staff from other charities and community groups that were looking to boost funding for their projects and good causes.
The Fun Walk team provides the sponsorship forms for the walks, which may take place anywhere and anytime during September, and then with the generous support of local businesses the Trust tops up the sponsorship money raised by each organisation, on a pro-rata basis, which last year equated to a 40% bonus.
Sandra Bastow said “The Fun Walk is extremely grateful for the local business that have already confirmed their support of the 2024 event including Greater Anglia, Butyl Products Group, Tunnelcraft and others, and I am delighted by the number of organisations that have already registered.”
For more information, and to register a team or organisation, please visit the Fun Walk website: www.thefunwalktrust.co.uk.
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 2023 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 over £85,00 for local charities and community groups. The amount raised in 2023 brought the total raised to £1,535,000 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 will be continued for the foreseeable future.
