Wednesday 16 November 2022: Girlguiding members and volunteers from across Nottinghamshire joined Pudseyandfitness coach, Joe Wicks MBE for a very special parkrun in Rushcliffe Country Parkat the weekend.
The event which saw hundreds of people ‘Walk With Joe’ formed part of this year’s fundraising campaign for BBC Children in Need.
Over 30 Girlguiding members, including adult volunteers, Rainbows and Brownies joined the Nottinghamshire park run with Joe alongside hundreds of others from the local community to walk the route with family and friends to fundraise and reap the benefits of being in the great outdoors.
The girls wore their Girlguiding uniform and Pudsey ears to get into the spirit of the event. Elea, a Rainbow from Ruddington, managed tofundraise £50 all by herself for the event. Members of 14thWest Bridgford Brownies event had the chance to speak to BBC Radio Nottingham, where they said that “it feels good to know that we are helping other people”. Joe will be leading walks at four different parkrun locations across the UK in November for BBC Children in Need, including Maidenhead, Newport, Dundee and Nottingham. In addition, many other family friendly parkrun locations across the UK will be joining the campaign and encouraging supporters to join the walks to help make a difference.
Anyone taking part over the two weekends will be encouraged to come along dressed in their best fancy dress, spotty outfits or Pudsey ears.
To find out more please visit: https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/fundraising/walk-with-joe/As part of Walk with Joe, Joe has also committed to walking an epic 30-mile ultra-marathon to raise funds for BBC Children in Need. On Friday 18 November, Joe will start his walk in MediaCityUKand aim to finish in ten hours to reach the BBC Children in Need Great Spotacular Appeal Show. Along the way, Joe will be joined by special guests, including charity fundraisers and other celebrity friends.
The event will be live streamed on Joe’s social media account(s), and he’ll also face some unexpected surprises and challenges along the way.
Commenting on theWalk with Joe fundraising events, Joe Wicks said:“I’m a massive advocate of moving the body to help the mind,and walking and talking with family and friends has always been really important to me. Walk with Joe is an easy and accessible way for people of all abilities to come together and reconnect, while helping to raise money for children and young people across the UK. By getting together, we can make a real difference. I’m so excited to meet the families and lead some of the routes, I hope everyone comes along to support such a great cause. And if you can’t make it down to your local parkrun, don’t forget to tune into my ultra-marathon livestream!”
The Walk With Joe parkrun events are just one of many fundraising activities Girlguiding’s nearly 370,000 Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Rangers and volunteers are taking on this year. Girlguiding members up and down the country are being encouraged to supercharge their fundraising by choosing an activity they love and getting together with friends, family or as a unit to make it longer, faster or bigger than ever before. From reada’thons, skip-a’thons to juggleat’thons and walka’thons –the possibilities are endless.
Now in the third year of partnership the annual joint fundraising campaign is a firm favourite in Girlguiding calendars, with this year’s set to follow the success of previous yearsin raising much needed funds to help empower the lives of young people. All money raised by Girlguiding members will be split equally between BBC Children in Need and Girlguiding and will go on to make a difference to young lives across the UK.
For Girlguiding the money raised will support at a local and national level to benefit girls and young women the length andbreadth of the UK, and will enable the charity to continue supporting their wellbeing by providing a space where they can be themselves, have fun, make brilliant friendships, build confidence, and gain valuable life skills at a time where many need it themost.For BBC Children in Need money raised will help to support local charities and projects in communities across the UK that are helping children and young people facing a range of challenges, whether that is those living in poverty, providing emergency support to families in crisis, providing comfort to children feeling sad, lost and alone, helping children overcome social injustice and supporting children to feel safe and secure again.
To mark this year’s challenge, Girlguidinghaslaunched a special BBC Children in Need 2022 Pudsey badge to represent both organisations,and their mission and commitment to helping children and young people in the UK.