It always takes a while to collect and collate sponsorship funding from the North Downs Walk, but the results are worth waiting for – especially this year. The on-the-day rough assessment was that the Walk had raised about £21,000 for all the charities and good causes represented. The final figure includes payments made online and shows that we did much better, with a headline total of £27000 including Gift Aid, of which £17700 will go to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
The Walk is held primarily for CRUK, with many of the 357 walkers donating 100% of their sponsorship pledges to them. Other walkers took the opportunity to donate 50% to CRUK and 50% to a charity or good cause which they select. 26 good causes benefited from the other £9300 including local Brownies, Guides and Scouts, seven ATC squadrons, MacMillan and the local Space2BeMe.
Although it is not a competition, we give some awards for the best fundraising efforts. The 1404 Chatham ATC squadron swept the board this year with both the Forces Shield and the overall group trophy, and their chairman Keith Simmons won the individual trophy. Our president, Geoff Haffenden, and walk committee chairman, Chas Bedford, attended their annual inspection and prize giving parade to present the awards.
Honourable mentions go to Terry and Callum Watkinson and to Faithful & Gould for their contributions.
Planning for the 2024 Walk is already underway (save the date – 9th June 2024) with all the usual features: the choice of routes, the ploughman’s lunch, live music entertainment and (fingers crossed) the good weather. Online registrations open in March; if you are already on our mailing list we will be in touch automatically – otherwise click the button on the Walk page to receive an update email when registration goes live.
As always, a big thank you to our event sponsor, Family Funeral Service, who underwrote all the costs of the walk and ensured that every penny raised went to the charities rather than into admin costs. Good news, they have agreed to sponsor the 2024 Walk, so we can make the same promise for next year.