Run 4 Wales chooses MND Association as charity of the year – & more fundraising event news
Melanie May | 13 March 2024 | News
A round up of recent fundraising event news – from Run 4 Wales choosing MND Association as its charity of the year, to National Doughnut Week’s support of The Children’s Trust.
National Doughnut Week to raise funds for The Children’s Trust
This year’s National Doughnut Week takes place from 18-26 May 2024 raising funds for The Children’s Trust. The week sees bakeries, cafés, coffee shops and restaurants across the UK take part along with businesses and schools. It is free to take part and, once registered, participants can access resources to help organise events and promote the week, while bakeries and cafés can request point of sales kits.
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Sponsored by CSM Ingredients, the charity week was launched in 1992 by Christopher Freeman, co-owner of Dunns Bakery. Since then, Freeman has gone on to raise a total of £1,103,541 for charity, including £43,050 for The Children’s Trust last year through National Doughnut Week 2023.
JustGiving fundraisers raise more than £750k for charity at this year’s Rubix VT Brighton Half Marathon
The Rubix VT Brighton Half Marathon, now in its 34th year, took place on Sunday 25 February with official fundraising partner JustGiving helping raise £796,636 for good causes. More than 1,350 JustGiving fundraisers took part.
JustGiving’s second year as the official fundraising partner for the event saw it increase the amount raised through its platform by 58% on last year. The number of individual fundraising pages on the platform also increased markedly this year, from 864 to 1,359.
Alzheimer’s Research UK chosen as Tough Mudder official charity partner
Tough Mudder has announced Alzheimer’s Research UK as an Official Charity Partner for the 2024 season. The agreement will see Alzheimer’s Research UK come onboard as the official charity which will be part of both the registration process for tickets and fundraising, right through to event activation. The charity will be using the ten UK events to showcase their work and share their vision for a world where people are free from the fear, harm, and heartbreak of dementia.
Over 100,000 participants took part in Tough Mudder events in 2023 around the UK with thousands of them raising money for charity.
Run 4 Wales announces Motor Neurone Disease Association as charity of the year
Run 4 Wales will be supporting the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association as its charity of the year for 2024. This is the first time Run 4 Wales has put forward a charity of the year. It helps to raise more than £4 million across its portfolio each year, with over £3 million raised in the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon alone. The MND Association is being given a complimentary package for the sold-out Principality Cardiff Half Marathon to encourage runners to fundraise, as well as further spaces in the Brecon Carreg Cardiff Bay 10K, Ogi Porthcawl 10K and CDF 10K.
The MND Association has also been chosen as the official charity for CSR activity at the Dell Technologies Management Challenge in June, and the Run 4 Wales team will be carrying out further fundraising activities throughout the year.
Bristol’s first Anti Banquet raises £100,000 for Bristol Local Food Fund
Organised by Josh Eggleton, Team Canteen, Team Love and Plaster, the sold-out night saw support from businesses across the South West, including sponsors Sweet Projects, Yeo Valley, First Bus, Wring Group, Bristol Beer Factory and Google Cloud as well as further local organisations that donated to a sell-out raffle, which raised an additional £4,500 – including Artist Residence, Bianchis Group and Bristol Beer Factory.
Guiding the CEOs in the kitchen were a number of celebrated chefs including Josh Eggleton, Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, Toby Gritten, Ben Harvey, Hannah Catley, Sam Elliot, Jude Kereama and Sunday Brunch’s Simon Rimmer, who all volunteered their time. With the support of partners, Feeding Bristol and Quartet Community Foundation, Bristol Local Food Fund (BLFF) aims for all grants to be distributed in the late Spring. Over the course of several sessions, a panel will go through a participatory grant-making process where they will review the criteria and application process before making decisions on where the money is allocated.
BHF announced as charity partner for The Gemini Boat Race 2024
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has been announced as the official charity partner for The Gemini Boat Race 2024 – the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, which takes place on 30 March. To launch the partnership, the charity is working with identical twins Catherine and Gemma King who are set to row on opposing sides for the 2024 Boat Race. The 78th Women’s Race will take place on Saturday 30 March ahead of the 169th Men’s Race and will see the King twins in different colours for the first time. Used to competing
The twins began rowing aged 12 years old, and had been participating in The Boat Race since 2018, both rowing for Cambridge. This year the twins face the possibility of racing against each other after Catherine moved to start studying her PhD at Oxford University in September 2023. Ahead of the Boat Race, the BHF are encouraging people to take on their own rowing challenge.
New Legacy Ride to take place in July raising funds for MND Association
A new cycling event has been announced in Yorkshire this summer — marking the 10th anniversary of the Tour de France Grand Depart. Named Legacy Ride, the event is organised by cycling events company Struggle Events with support from Leeds City Council and sponsorship from Leeds-based advanced digital delivery company Axiologik.
Being held on Sunday 7 July, Legacy Ride aims to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association and a £6.8mn Leeds Hospitals Charity appeal for a Rob Burrow Centre for MND. In the name of charity, amateur cyclists will get the chance to retrace the route followed by the sport’s professional stars back in 2014. Setting out from Roundhay Park in Leeds, riders will make their way to the heart of the Yorkshire Dales via some of the county’s most scenic roads and locations. Cyclists have the option of the full 230km ride, or of 120km and 70km routes.
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.