At a Celebration Evening last week attended by many local charities and community groups, John Baron, Chair of the Fun Walk Trustees, announced that the 2024 Fun Walk had raised nearly £101,000 with an estimated 2,000 supporters taking part in sponsored walks across Essex.

John welcomed Professor Michael Almond, Deputy Lieutenant of Essex, representing His Majesty the King, Commanding Officer Simon Tayor and the 2393 (Billericay) Air Training Cadets, as well as Jim Shrubb the Billericay Town Cryer, and thanked them for their support of the Celebration evening.

John Baron said:

“I confirmed last year that I wished to continue my involvement with The Fun Walk Trust charity that we established in 2002, and which has since raised over £1,635,000 for local charities and good causes.”

“To be part of the Fun Walk over 22 years is a great honour. It represents the best of our communities in working together and marries a very strong charitable and entrepreneurial ethos by encouraging businesses to donate into the bonus pot which in turn encourages charities to do even more.”

John thanked the organisations present for all the work they do in the local community during the year, and said “Tonight we can celebrate that as well”.

In terms of Fundraising, John was happy to announce that this year’s event raised over £100,000 including the bonus, which this year was set at 30%. This total is better than recent years’ efforts and the bonus amount along with Gift Aid allows charities to add more than 50% to the money raised directly from their sponsored walks.

John said

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our generous Bonus Pot sponsors including Brown & Carroll (London), Sanctuary Housing, Greater Anglia, Tunnelcraft, Butyl Products Group, IFE Global Logistics, Mr Barrie Stone and a number of other individuals.”

There was also a special mention of Ram Goyal of Hallmark Care Homes, who was present at the event, given he has been a major supporter of the Fun Walk over the past decade.

John thanked the ‘Home team’ for making things run smoothly including the Fun Walk Trustees, Sandra, Christine, and Sylvia as well as Simon Licence from Hunt Smee Accountants, and the BBW CVS team led by Chief Officer Simon Johnson, who help provide the administration for the Fun Walk Trust.

He concluded by saying “If you know of any other good causes or charities, please ask them to get in touch with us for next year’s event.”

About the Fun Walk:

John Baron 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 was very successful and so 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.

The 2024 event raised £100,953 for local charities and community groups, and brought the total money raised since the Fun Walk’s inception to over £1,635,000.

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 different format, allowing supporters the flexibility to walk the distance anytime during the selected month (and not all having to gather on a specific date). This proved to be very successful and will be continued for the foreseeable future.

For more details visit www.thefunwalktrust.co.uk