How do we continue to raise money & awareness for Kids Village during a global pandemic?
That was the question we asked ourselves mid 2020- amidst the wild uncertainty.
We decided that one of the things we wanted to was take on a challenge. We wanted a challenge that was local, accessible, and short in time commitment…
The Challenge
On the 10th October 2021 40+ people in teams of 3 or more took part in the Kids Village Royal Pride Challenge: a marathon distance walk from one side of London to the other visiting Royal Parks along the way!
Starting in the dark, meeting at 6.30am in Bushy Park, there was a positive feeling amongst the group and the first few miles passed relatively quickly & without too many blisters! Walking through Bushy Park & Richmond Park as the sun came up and the day started was actually really beautiful and seeing the deer in the parks made it even more special.
We were warned that there would be tough parts to the day and as we started to approach lunchtime, and the 12-15 mile mark, some struggles started to show. Feet hurt, energy was low and some of us had got lost finding our way to Hyde Park. We were grateful for the lunch stop, and lots of us changed our shoes- giving our feet a new lease of life! But the hardest parts were definitely still to come.
By the time we set off after lunch we had already been walking for 6 hours but we had nearly another 6 hours to go! There was a bit of moaning, swearing but also team support and encouragement as we finally made our way to the Greenwich Park Observatory. We ended up walking further than expected (nearer to 30 miles!!) and the joy and relief of completing the challenge was overwhelming! Walking can sound like a manageable task, but let me tell you, this was a true challenge that shocked most of us by how difficult mentally and physically it was.
Before I tell you how much money we raised, I want to share a lovely piece of humanity. The reality once the challenge was finished was actually MORE walking to find our way home. As we hobbled down the hill in Greenwich Park exhausted and in pain a lovely man asked us what were up to. Once we explained our extremely slow wincing pace he reached into his pocket and donated £10 to Kids Village there and then. That small act of kindness from a man that didn’t know us & hadn’t heard of our charity really made our day.
Final result
In conclusion, I’m so pleased and excited to say that we raised £16,788.20. Every pound and penny is so important to us and everything raised goes towards building Kids Village.
So… what’s next!?
