#CharityTuesday: Living Streets #GBwalk

Following on from yesterday's Family Fun post here is a bit more about the charity and the challenge:

Living Streets is here to create better, safer streets where people want to walk. We stand up for pedestrians just like you. We campaign for change that will help cut road deaths and put people first. We work with millions of school children to get them walking to school and we work to make our streets more enjoyable places to be.

Our streets are the one public service that everyone uses, but it’s all too easy to take them for granted. Many of our streets are poorly maintained, unsafe and make it difficult for more vulnerable people to get about. And getting people walking can be crucial to tackling a range of issues, from helping people get healthier to bringing communities together. We want to see living streets for everyone, but we can only continue our campaigning activity with the help of donations.

The Great British Walking Challenge is the perfect way get involved and contribute. Simply ask your friends, family or colleagues to sponsor your Great British Walking Challenge. You’ll be doing your bit for safer streets as you walk and it’s really easy to get started.



Three easy steps to get fundraising

1. Register for the Great British Walking Challenge 


Make sure you register for the Great British Walking Challenge at www.livingstreets.org.uk/gbwc


Here you’ll be able to log your minutes, miles or steps walked throughout the month.  
You can include all your walking whether it’s to work, school, the shops, the hairdresser  
or when you’re out walking the dog. You’ll be able to keep track of how you’re doing throughout the month.


2. Set yourself a goal



Your goal is personal to you and it can also be included in your Great British Walking Challenge registration. Setting a goal may help motivate you to keep going throughout the event. Your goal could be as specific as you like. Here are some suggestions:

“I will walk two miles a day”
“I will walk one mile with my son/daughter to school everyday”
“I will aim to walk 100 miles during May”

3. Start fundraising


The best way to collect sponsorship is by setting up your own personal page at
www.justgiving.com

If you haven’t registered with JustGiving yet it only takes a few minutes and is needed
for us to process your supporters’ donations.

Once you’ve provided your details, click the ‘create account’ button. You will also need
to identify Living Streets as your chosen charity. Type the words ‘Living Streets’ into
the search bar and click ‘search’. Our charity information will come up on the screen.
Click the word ‘choose’ to start fundraising.

Once registered, it’s really easy to start fundraising, including setting up a page for
your challenge and sending an email to your friends asking them for their support.


What else can I do?


• Get your friends and family walking too – encourage everyone you know in your community to sign up to the Great British Walking Challenge. Put up a poster in your
local area or speak to your neighbours about what you’re doing. You can download promotional materials at www.livingstreets.org.uk/gbwc

• Spread the word – Use Facebook and Twitter to get the word out online, using the hashtag #GBwalk. Make sure you update your friends and followers throughout the
month on your progress.

• Share your experiences – once you’ve registered for the Great British Walking Challenge you’ll be able to share your experiences with other people taking part. You’ll also  be able to ask others for hints and tips and take part in fun challenges to keep your motivation up.  www.livingstreets.org.uk/gbwc

Download our event guide at www.livingstreets.org.uk/gbwc

• Host a walking event in your community – during your challenge why not set up an event in your local neighbourhood to get everyone out walking? See how many times you can walk around your local park in an hour, or get your whole street to walk to their local shops together. Make sure you encourage everyone to get fundraising too.

• We have a fantastic range of merchandise to help you fundraise. Our Great British Walking Challenge pack includes a t-shirt, shoebag, pedometer, water bottle, and footcare kit for just £18. Individual products are also available and will help
bring your challenge to life. All profits are reinvested into Living Streets charitable initiatives www.livingstreets.org.uk/shop

If you write a blogpost about it then please link up to my post from yesterday.


How your money helps


The money you raise will help us create safer streets with fewer casualties.
We’ll be able to campaign at a national and local level to put pedestrians first.

£7.50
Buys a classroom pack to encourage children to get fitter and healthier by walking to school.

£50
Buys an awareness pack for a local community or charity group to encourage people to improve their health and walk more.

£100
Helps our Local Groups campaign for a whole year,  to cut speed limits and make streets safer.

£200
Helps us run awareness raising events, to get people out enjoying walking and exploring the streets near them.

£1,500
Funds us to lobby national government to cut the 20,000 hospital admissions that happened last year as a  result of badly maintained icy pavements.

£3,000
Pays for us to commission independent research, which can be used to demonstrate the importance of our agenda to decision makers locally and nationally