{"id":7117,"date":"2018-04-13T12:53:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T12:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitproblog.mysites.io\/fundraising\/"},"modified":"2018-04-13T12:53:27","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T12:53:27","slug":"fundraising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/fundraising\/","title":{"rendered":"Fundraising through fitness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olympian Ron Hill is living with dementia but determined to make a difference. His story could inspire you to start fundraising through fitness.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ron Hill, a 79-year-old former Commonwealth and European champion, hopes to inspire other people who are living with dementia and has vowed to fight the condition with the same determination that turned him into a three-times Olympian, the first Briton to win the Boston Marathon and a gold medal-winner in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in a then world-record time of two hours, nine minutes and 28 seconds.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ron Hill<\/p><\/div>\n

Ron says, \u201cDementia is the biggest challenge of my life but it isn\u2019t the end of the road by any stretch of the imagination. So I\u2019ll cheerfully carry on keeping active and, hopefully, this will give other people the impression that dementia is nothing to be frightened by and that there shouldn\u2019t be any stigma attac<\/em>hed to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ron will be guest of honour at the OMC Motor Group Ron Hill Accrington 10k & Fun Run<\/a> on Sunday 22 April. It will see money donated to the Alzheimer\u2019s Society<\/a>, the UK\u2019s leading dementia charity, which works tirelessly to challenge perceptions, fund research to find a cure and improve care and support for those affected.\u00a0According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Society, there are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK \u2013 and this number is set to rise to one million by 2021.<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s Society chief executive Jeremy Hughes believes Ron\u2019s positive mindset will inspire others to unite and take action against dementia. \u201cDementia is the biggest health challenge facing society and no one should have to face it alone. But Ron is showing that people with dementia can be empowered to live a life they love after a diagnosis with the support of family, friends and people across our communities uniting against dementia.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

How to run a fundraising event<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If Ron\u2019s story inspires you to want to make a difference and raise some money for a good cause, read on for insight from three fitness charity fundraisers on what it takes to run a charity event. Could you be inspired to start a campaign?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Develop the fundraising idea<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For her 60th birthday, Julie Brailey asked 60 people to raise at least \u00a3600 for the Alzheimer\u2019s Society and the 60 600<\/a> Challenge was born. The Brailey family went on to win the Alzheimer Society\u2019s Fundraiser of the Year (Group) Award at the Dementia Friendly Awards 2017.<\/p>\n

Julie says, \u201cOut of 10 people at a dinner on New Year\u2019s Eve 2016, eight were directly affected by Alzheimer\u2019s, including me, as my mum died from the disease. So I decided to set up the 60 600 Challenge. We raised more than \u00a385,000 \u2013 well over our target. We even had the song A Good Life donated by Sheffield-based, Grammy-nominated Steve Edwards.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe set the challenge over 12 months to make it easier for people to plan and take part. One of the events was a mass spin class at the Institute of Sport \u2013 two sessions with 100 people in each and a team of coaches to lead the class. Another challenger was David Gray, chair of the Sheffield City Trust (SCT) group; he took part in 60 sports across six days, including football with Sheffield United.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery challenger set up a JustGiving page and we had a core group of supporters \u2013 lots of people will initially say \u2018yes\u2019 but people can fall away, so have a conversation about what you\u2019re looking for to make it easier to match skills to tasks. Also, throw away your inhibitions and ask for prizes to support your fundraising \u2013 many organisations are happy to help.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Consider the logistics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Una Lacey of Formula 4 Fitness<\/a> ran The Windy Long One, a four-day fundraiser comprising swimming, biking and running to raise money for John van Geest Cancer Research<\/a>. She is affiliated with UK Athletics.<\/p>\n

Una says, \u201cUK Athletics gives me the confidence that I\u2019m putting on a legally robust event. The Windy spanned four days, with different locations for overnight stays. Participants need to know how much they need to pay, what they\u2019re getting for their money, where they need to be and when, how much training they need to do and what kit they need. As an organiser, you need to decide how flexible you\u2019ll be and how you\u2019ll support them through their training and participation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI employ an amazing friend for a one-off fee for running events and have volunteers during the race; I pay for their time with food\/drink, etc. as often they stand in the cold and dark! For the Windy, I asked relevant businesses for sponsorship of a specific element (e.g., cycling jerseys, swim hats). I gave them options to share the cost with another sponsor. I found the personal touch of a phone call to be most effective and I offered to place company logos on event clothing and social media in return. Thank your sponsors as visibly as possible. As soon as possible after the event, you should have a visible handing over of the cheque, so the sponsors and those who\u2019ve donated see their money has gone where it should.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Publicise your fundraising event<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kesha Armour, RealBody Fitness<\/a>, ran a fundraising charity week to raise money for Cardiac Risk in the Young<\/a> (CRY) after being diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. CRY offers free heart screenings for people aged 14 to 35.<\/p>\n

Kesha says, \u201cMy aim was to encourage people to get screened; all week I handed out the charity\u2019s information packs. I ran one-to-one sessions as usual but without charge; all I asked was they made a small donation to CRY. I was overwhelmed when every client donated their full fee.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCRY provides me with new ideas for fundraisers and the materials I need (banners, balloons, t-shirts, flyers, etc.). I advertise at least one month in advance, so I get a feel for how many people will attend and give people enough notice. Word of mouth is great but I also find contacting radio stations and newspapers helps, as it reaches out to people who wouldn\u2019t otherwise have heard about your event. I\u2019ve had donations from people who didn\u2019t attend but heard about it in the media. Facebook is an amazing platform for reaching out to people and raising awareness.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can help publicise events by letting people know how previous fundraisers went. I wrote articles for local companies who wanted to know about my event, which provided me with support for subsequent events.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Where to next? Check out our guide to some obstacle challenges ahead<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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