Six great fundraising events supporting charities
Melanie May | 25 March 2021 | News
Here is news of six events – past, present and future, from Mind’s 27 27 Challenge, taking place this month, to The Gurkha Welfare Trust’s Doko challenge, which will run in May and June.
St Giles Hospice’s Orange April
Every April West Midlands charity St Giles Hospice asks people to go orange wherever they are, whether it’s for a day, a week or even the entire month, and raise funds to help it continue providing its care. During Orange April, supporters are asked to text to donate £3, and can also request a fundraising pack, which has other orange-related ideas for supporting the charity.
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The Gurkha Welfare Trust launches 2021 Doko Challenge
Members of the public and the military are invited to take on the ‘Doko’ Challenge to test their stamina against the ‘bravest of the brave’ – the Gurkhas. The Gurkhas have fought in the British Army for over 200 years and their recruitment process remains one of the toughest in the world. Central to the recruitment tests is the Doko race – an uphill sprint in the Himalayan foothills with a weighted traditional Nepali Doko basket on your back.
The Gurkha Welfare Trust is offering members of the public (and the military) the chance to see if they have what it takes to complete the challenge. Participants will race for 5km and have three choices for their Doko basket weight – 5kg, 10kg or 15kg, all of which are provided. The challenge is to finish within the 46 minutes that Gurkha recruits are required to.
The fundraising races take place in the historic grounds of Greystoke Castle, Cumbria on Sunday 23 May and on Wimbledon Common, London on Sunday 6 June.
RNIB launches 2021 Marathon Mates
RNIB has launched the 2021 event of its virtual fundraiser, Marathon Mates. The charity is calling on people to pair up with a friend, partner, housemate or family member and split the distance of a marathon (26.2 miles) during the month of May. Participants can choose to run, walk, jog or skip with their pair whether they’re side by side, or on the other side of the country. It’s free to sign up, with a suggested fundraising target of £150 per pair, the same amount it costs to support three people via RNIB’s Sight Loss Advice Service.
Breakout for Ben raises almost £159,000
Automotive charity Ben has announced that its 10-day virtual active challenge, Breakout for Ben, has raised just under £159,000. Ben invited the whole automotive industry to Breakout for Ben in February and a total of 986 people took part. They walked, ran, cycled and exercised their way to complete over 80,000 miles collectively to raise funds for the charity.
Teams embarked on a virtual journey visiting motor circuits across the UK, starting at Pembrey Circuit in north Wales and taking in all four home nations, before ending at Silverstone.
Overall, just under £737,000 has now been raised to help address Ben’s £1million fundraising shortfall. All funds raised will help Ben support automotive industry people with their mental health, physical health and wellbeing.
Mind’s 27 Miles 27 Days on course to raise over £1m
Mind’s 27 27 Challenge now has over 8,000 participants, who are on course to raise £1m + Gift Aid for the charity by the end of March. It challenges students to run 27 miles over 27 days and fundraise in solidarity with the 27% of students who report a mental health problem at university by getting people to donate or pledge donations for every mile tracked.
The 27 27 Challenge switched to GivePenny for 2021, and is currently on £907,000 in donations, plus £63,000 earned of £100,000 pledged.
Rays of Sunshine launches virtual children’s art gallery
On Monday 1 March, Rays of Sunshine launched a virtual children’s art gallery displaying art created by the children and young people it supports. Each piece of artwork on display in the Rays of Sunshine Children’s Art Gallery has been produced by a child or young person currently living with a serious or life-limiting illness.
Created alongside Moyosa Media, the gallery aims to celebrate the bond between Rays of Sunshine and its beneficiaries, in addition to recognising the charity’s patrons and supporters. Each child has depicted their own interpretation of the theme ‘sunshine, happiness and laughter’ and many of the pieces of art were created during group creative workshops with Rays of Sunshine.
When viewing the gallery there is also an opportunity to donate
More on fundraising events
- RideLondon cancelled once more due to pandemic (1 February 2021)
- Gift Aid rules relaxed on donating refunds for charity events (13 May 2021)
- Mass participation fundraising events return to England (13 July 2021)
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.