Congratulations to Team Home for Our Troops! This past Monday a dedicated team of 25 people ran the Boston Marathon in support of this charity. The team was made up of active and retired military members as well as a few civilians.
The program is different from other charity teams in that members come from all over the USA and beyond, paying their own way to get to Boston to run the marathon in addition to all the money they raise. It’s a lot of work training for a marthon plus doing all of the fundraising, and this team excelled at both. Together the group raised over $87,000 to provide specially adapted homes for our most severely injured troops.
Marie Curie Cancer Care is best known for their network of nurses working in the community to provide end-of-life care for patients in their own homes. They have 10 hospices across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. and run the world-renowned Marie Curie Research Institute, which investigates the causes and treatments of cancer.
The Great Daffodil Appeal raises funds to support the charity and its programs.
Several Daffodil walks took place during the month of March, including one in Sunderland. There’s another walk coming up in Northern Ireland on April 26 called the Devoted to Life Walk.
Marie Curie also has a program that lets you choose your own “ultimate challenge.” With running events, swimming, cycling, marathoning, parachuting, and international events like the Kilimanjaro trek, there’s something for everyone.
Residents of Glasgow, Scotland will join together for the city’s first Great Scottish Walk event on Sunday, May 25. There will be three routes: three, six and twelve miles. Edinburgh also hosts a similar event which will be on June 22nd. The events will benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland.
Here’s another extreme walk for charity from the news…
Englishman Mark Beecham will soon be embarking on a long walk for charity. He’s a 20 year veteran of the postal service and 5 year veteran of the TA (Territorial Army) . He’ll be will be going on a well known Coast to Coast trek which spans 192-miles. He’s raising money for Help For Heroes, a charity which supports British soldiers wounded in battle.
He was quoted in the local paper saying, “The idea’s been in my head for about 10 years and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Yesterday I highlighted a few of the stories about extreme run/walk events. If you really want to run, walk, or hike long distances for a charity that is great. I could probably do a long distance hike if it were not a race.
But you don’t have to do something that extreme to help a good cause. In fact all the Epilepsy Foundation asks you to do is take a stroll. It’s a pledge based event so you get your friends and family to support you, then just do two miles. That’s it, just two miles. Read more… »
I found another great long distance walk today, organized by someone on their own, to help a friend. Gav Thompson, of Newbury, England was inspired to plan a charity walk when his friend’s child died of a rare genetic disease. The idea gained traction and eventually 16 others joined him for a 52 mile walk. 17 others joined in for the final stretch on the last day of the event. The story was reported in the local paper, the Newbury Today and on the BBC.
Students at the University of Georgia are taking the lead in helping to raise funds for a great cause. The AIDS Walk/Run Athens will be held on March 1st 2008 starting with a timed 5K race followed by a walk.
Proceeds will benefit AIDS Athens, an organization that serves Athens, GA and 10 surrounding counties. It is the only AIDS facility serving these areas.
Good luck to all of the students planning this event, running, walking and raising funds for a great cause!