London to Brighton Bike Ride raises over £1mn for BHF, & more fundraising event news
Melanie May | 3 July 2024 | News
A round up of recent event news, including this year’s London to Brighton Bike Ride raising over £1mn for BHF, and the London Landmarks Half Marathon seeing record-breaking public ballot applications.
2025 London Landmarks Half Marathon with ballot registrations up by over 80%
London Landmarks Half Marathon organisers have reported high demand for ballot places after the close of the public ballot for the 2025 event taking place on Sunday 6 April.
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Tommy’s recorded an unprecedented number of applications after the public ballot closed after 7 days. Registrations exceeded the total number of applications received for the 2024 event by 83%, with the 2024 figure being smashed after just 24hrs. Those that secure a ballot place will be informed in early July, and charity places are still available.
Your Park Bristol & Bath seeks businesses for new 100km Challenge
Grassroots nature-based charity, Your Park Bristol & Bath, is appealing for 20 local businesses to get their walking boots on and help raise funds for the two cities’ parks and green spaces.
The charity released figures in May that show one-third of the local population struggle to access their local park. It launched a 12-month campaign, Reimagining Parks, to tackle the barriers, with an initial fundraising target of £30k by October to kickstart the work needed and much bigger ambitions by the end of the 12 months to make significant impact across the 580 or so parks and green spaces across the two cities. It’s now launched its 100km Challenge and is hoping to raise £10k, with 20 businesses each signing up and committing to raising a minimum of £500.
PlayMoreGolf chooses Talk Club as partner for PlayMoreGolf Week
PlayMoreGolf has teamed up with national mental health charity, Talk Club, as an official charity partner for National PlayMoreGolf Week
Taking place during the week starting 1 July, the week’s purpose is to encourage players of any standard, age, and gender, to get out and play golf in any form, and to talk more to each other. Over the course of the week, PlayMoreGolf will be asking all participants to submit their stories, photos, videos, experiences across social media, using the hashtag #NPMGW & #PlayMoreScoreBetter with the best entry winning a prize including an overnight stay for four (two x twin occupancy rooms), dinner bed & breakfast with a fourball at The Grove, and a new 2024 M1 electric trolley worth £779.99 along with a Pro-Series bag worth £219.99, from Motorcaddy.
London to Brighton Bike Ride raises over £1 million for heart research
Over 12,000 cyclists pedalled their way to success in the London to Brighton Bike Ride on 16 June, for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
The BHF’s flagship fundraising event, which has now been running for almost half a century, raised £1 million to help the charity fund more research into new treatments and cures for heart and circulatory diseases. Cyclists from a variety of ages and backgrounds took to the roads for this historic cycling event that has raised over £50 million for the BHF over the last 47 years. Scientist Patrick Vallance (pictured above crossing the finishing line) was among participants, taking on the bike ride as a way to thank the charity for funding some of his early career. Sir Patrick headed up a team of scientists who fundraised just under £28,000.
Too Many Critics charity event raises over £143,000 to fight global hunger
The seventeenth edition of the Too Many Critics charity fundraising event saw food writers and critics swapping their pens for aprons and guests raising a record breaking £143,012 for Action Against Hunger.
The critics-turned-chefs-for-the-night prepared a three-course meal for the guests, cooking under the watchful eyes of judges Francesco Mazzei, Vivek Singh, Jason Atherton, Richard Corrigan, and Robin Gill, who declared critic Kate Krader the night’s winner. There was also a silent auction and a live auction.
Elmer auction raises £143,550 for Brian House Children’s Hospice
Elmer’s Big Parade Blackpool came to its conclusion at Blackpool Tower late last month, as the large Elmer sculptures and some surprise lots raised £143,550 for Brian House Children’s Hospice.
Bidders who were both in the room at the Tower’s Fifth Floor and watching online, dug deep in their efforts to buy one of the unique pieces of art inspired by David McKee’s Elmer the Patchwork Elephant,
following the eight-week art trail. The top seller of the night was Elmer’s Book Bench, which not only fetched £8,000, but bidders in the room clubbed together to pay an additional £10,000 to have another bench specially made for the children at Brian House.
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.