Midnight Walk- Saturday 28th June - Banbury Rugby Club
Walk for Fun! Walk for Fitness, Walk in Memory of Family and Friends.
Thank you to all those who have already registered for this year’s walk. We’ve had another great response, but please note there are only two weeks left in which to register. A strict closing date of 22nd May has been set. We look forward to receiving your application!
Last year, thanks to a fantastic community effort with 625 walkers registered and over 100 volunteers helping in so many ways, we raised £70,000 to fund ongoing nursing care here at the hospice in Adderbury.
Spurred on by this success, the Walk will once again start at the Rugby Club on Oxford Road, following a route through town, and back to the Rugby Club for a memorial balloon release and tasty bacon baps. We will again start the Walk at Cotefield Nurseries and will warm up walkers with exercises to music which proved very popular last year, despite the rain. A rousing rendition of the Proclaimers singing "I would walk 500 miles" will accompany our supporters as they start their challenge.
This year the Walk will be slightly longer at 12.5 miles, with Woodgreen Community Centre in Banbury being the half-way point where walkers can rest, re-register and enjoy a well deserved drink and light snack. The Walk is open to adults, teenagers and children aged 12 and over and each child must be accompanied by an adult. There is also the option to join later and walk 5.5 miles instead of the full distance, commencing at Woodgreen Avenue. Around 40 people did this last year. The Walk will follow a well-lit and well-marshalled route, with plenty of water stops including a drinking bowl at each stop for thirsty canine friends.
The Walk will take supporters down Bankside, on Bodicote Chase, along Upper Windsor Street to Spiceball and along Castle Street to Southam Road. Walkers will turn into Dukes Meadow Drive up to Warwick Road and down to Orchard Way. Following re-registration at Woodgreen Leisure Centre, walkers will make their way along The Fairway, up Prescott Avenue and down Bretch Hill re-joining Woodgreen Avenue and then along Broughton Road, Browning Road and back down the Bloxham Road and turning right into Easington. From there the route proceeds into Bodicote and back to the Rugby Club.
Once again, registration is £15 and for this, each participant receives training information, high-visibility T-shirt and wrist strap, a sponsorship form to encourage friends and family to make a donation to the hospice, a healthy snack and a medal for those who complete the course. We urge all walkers to raise a minimum of £50 sponsorship.
For an application form, please call Sarah Bidwell in Fundraising on (01295) 812161.
12 year old Zack Neville of Banbury attends North Oxfordshire Academy and he wrote to us after last year’s Walk enclosing his sponsor money of £162. Zack walked in memory of his Nan, Pam Devlin. He told us:
Although it was raining I had a really great evening. It had a really nice feeling when we released the balloons. I released mine in memory of my Nan who died almost a year ago. I came down almost every day when she was in the hospice and the staff were very kind and helpful. They looked after me, my family and especially my Nan very well."
Beryl Billyard from Banbury has worked as a volunteer in our Banbury shop for many years. After the Walk she wrote to us:
I just needed to write and congratulate your team on the organisation of the Midnight Walk. Despite the dreadful weather, it was a wonderful occasion, the spirit of the marshals cheering us on and you at the end greeting us in, it was a great pleasure in taking part. I am so glad I made the 12 miles. Thank you for your team’s hard work and all the volunteers on the Walk."
Once again we have received a wonderful response from local businesses keen to support us. Our thanks to Banbury Charities who have provided a significant sum towards sponsorship and all the businesses listed below which have generously sponsored the 2008 Walk by providing goods or financial donations:
Banbury
Charities
Charter Housing
Cox & Robinson (Chemists) Ltd
Cross Chemists
Fine Lady Bakery, Banbury
AAC Cyroma, Banbury
Streamline Office Services
Staples
Banbury Rugby Club
Bag n Box Man
Cleenol
Butchers
providing bacon:
Wingroves Food Hall
Betts Butchers
C J Harper
Taste Buds, Adderbury
Mumfords Butchers
Wrightons, Fritwell
Sue Lane, Fundraising Co-ordinator said:
"We’re really excited about the Walk this year and are sure it will be just as successful as last year. In fact, other hospices which have repeated a Midnight Walk all report higher numbers in the second year and our ‘phones have been red hot with enquiries. It will be a real community event with a great atmosphere and we hope to raise significant funds again to fund ongoing nursing care.
All services to patients are free of charge and this year it will cost £1.9 million to run our service, of which we will receive a Government grant of around 35%. This means we need to raise at least £1.3 million so we look forward to welcoming supporters to a fantastic fun event which will go some considerable way to achieving our fundraising target."
For further info contact Sarah Bidwell on (01295) 812161 or email sarah.bidwell@khh.org.uk