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Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month

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Walkabout Foundation was founded by siblings Luis and Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster after Luis was left Spinal Cord Injured at the age of 18.

Eleven years ago, Carolina and Luis completed the famous Camino de Santiago walk to raise funds and awareness of Walkabout. That day, Luis became the first person in the history of Spain to cross the country using the strength of his arms, on his hand tricycle.

In celebration of this special month, we are launching Walkabout’s Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Awareness Month. The campaign’s mission is two-fold – raise awareness of spinal cord injury, as well as raise funds for the SCI research that we are funding – Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a clinical trial that tests 30 patients with spinal cord injuries, developing therapies to help their recovery of function. Watch the video to find out more, and if you feel inspired, please donate today.

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The 2.6 Challenge

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We’re joining thousands of UK charities to boost charity funds through tough fundraising times

 

With so many events and fundraising opportunities now cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic, the UK’s different event organisers have come together and created a challenge for millions of us around the country to get behind and generate vital support for us and thousands of other UK charities.

The concept is simple. From the 26th of April for 5 days you are all challenged to do something active and creative, and ask your friends to donate £26 to a fundraising page you’ll create. There are no rules besides the government restrictions, but you should make your challenge related to the number 26 or 2.6. Perhaps you could walk around your house 26 times in a hand-made superhero costume or bake 26 muffins?!

If 2.6 million people raise £26 each, then that will generate the same £67m that would have been raised at the London Marathon, a vital source of funds that many charities relied upon which had to be postponed.

Many of us have been inspired by the story of a 99-year-old veteran who has raised millions by walking around his garden. Could you follow in his footsteps?

Of course, if you’d prefer to simply donate £26 then that’s just as welcome. But this is a great opportunity to motivate ourselves and our families to think up one thing a bit creative and get active for a good cause.

 

Become a Walkabout Hero in the 2.6 Challenge

Many charities will be promoting this campaign so how do you know where to send your money?

1. Dream up your 2.6 challenge

2. Donate to our cause or start your very own fundraising campaign Donate to our cause or start your very own fundraising campaign using one of the two channels below!

Just Giving
Virgin Money Giving

Please ensure you use one of these two fundraising channels to set up your own fundraising page. Search for “Walkabout Foundation UK” and get started! Both channels are waiving their fees so 100% of all donations come to us.

3. Ask all your friends and family to donate to your fundraising page by sending them the link and challenge them to do their own 2.6 Challenge

4. Complete your challenge

5. Share photos or videos of your challenge on social media with #TwoPointSixChallenge #WalkaboutHero and tag @WalkaboutOrg on Instagram and Twitter, and @WalkaboutFoundation on Facebook.

Thank you so much for supporting us during these difficult times! If you have any questions or need help with the fundraising idea, please get in touch with us on info@walkaboutfoundation.org or visit The 2.6 Challenge website.

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Walkabout Returns to Northern Uganda

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  It’s been 7 years since the South Sudanese Civil War, which has caused nearly two million refugees to flee to Northern Uganda. Life in the refugee camps of Bidibidi, Palorinya, and Adjumani is very tough; yet, it is even harder for those with disabilities. That is why last week, thanks to Euromonitor International, Walkabout […]

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110 kids in Venezuela received the gift of mobility

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Thanks to your generosity last Christmas, we were able to raise enough funds to send a container of 110 paediatric wheelchairs to Venezuela, which have just recently been distributed to the neediest of kids around the country. Children and their families came from all over the nation, travelling up to 2 days in order to receive their very first wheelchair ever.

It has been an incredible team effort that was made possible thanks to our local partners, Chamos Charity and Fundaprocura in Caracas. We would also like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who generously donated to our last holiday campaign.

Walkabout Wheelchair Centre – New Beginnings

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Designer Closet Sale 2109!

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In June 2019, Walkabout opened its very own week-long pop-up shop on King’s Road! The Designer Closet Sale sold pre-loved items donated by generous donors, with at least 50% of proceeds going to our projects. We raised an incredible £70,ooo gross and over £41,000 net, which is the equivalent of 164 wheelchairs!

We are so grateful to everyone who helped make this event such a success! From everyone who donated items, to those who volunteered their free time to help us organize and run the shop, and all the people that came along to do some guilt-free shopping for a good cause.

140 paediatric wheelchairs in the Dominican Republic

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In May we provided 140 paediatric wheelchairs to children in desperate need in the Dominican Republic – all thanks to the amazing fundraising efforts of Laura Porcella Mayol at the Berlin Marathon in 2018. Our team, alongside Laura herself, our partner teams, and a group of local star volunteers, personally adjusted every chair to make sure that each one was comfortable, functional and safe – sometimes taking up to 3 hours on a single chair! The majority of the children we met had never had a wheelchair before, and for them this gift represented a world of new opportunities: to go to school; to play with friends; to be independent for the very first time.

Inspirational fundraisers like Laura and supporters of our cause that make our work possible. On behalf of the people whose lives were changed, thank you!

 

Ananya’s Story

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340 Wheelchairs In Argentina!

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In July 2018, 4 Walkabout Heroes, Matias, Diego, Will and Lucas climbed over 19,000 feet to reach the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Their extraordinary campaign, thanks to hugely generous donations, raised over $76,000, enough to send an entire container of 340 rough terrain, locally repairable wheelchairs to Argentina!

Over the course of 10 days, in what has been our largest distribution ever to that country, Team Walkabout, Diego and our local partner traveled to 6 different locations to personally fit each chair and train the new users in wheelchair skills, ensuring they learnt how to use and look after their new device. Over the course of the trip, our team met people with incredible and heart wrenching stories, and the difference these wheelchairs will make to every person’s life is unique.

You too can become a star fundraiser and make our next life-transforming wheelchair distribution come true! Be inspired and become a Walkabout Hero, or simply donate today.

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Sending Refugee Children To School

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Why I Fundraise

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Nikki Emerson

Para-Athlete and Non-Executive Director of London Marathon Events

“Since retiring from elite athletics I find that having a goal to train for makes me exercise even when I’ve had a long day at work or a big night out and all I want to do is curl up in front of the TV. There’s nothing quite like taking part in events like London Marathon or RideLondon, with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets cheering for you to go that bit faster – I’ve done around 30 marathons and I keep saying I won’t do another, then somehow find myself on the start line again!

I feel very privileged to have access to a racing wheelchair and a handcycle so I can keep taking on these challenges, which is why I raise money for Walkabout to help provide other wheelchair users with mobility equipment that will hopefully give them the freedom to take part in sport, or even just to get around independently.”

 

Arielle Rausin

Team USA Para-Athlete and Walkabout Ambassador

“I fundraise for Walkabout because I strongly believe mobility is a human right. Mobility provides people with independence and bodily autonomy, two things essential towards living a healthy and happy life. Wheelchairs provide so much freedom for their users; I can’t imagine life without mine. My hope is that one day we will live in a world where everyone has the mobility device they need and deserve.”

 

Nataliia Vodolazkina

Paris Marathon 2019

“When I signed up to participate in the Paris Marathon for Walkabout Foundation, my goal was to challenge my abilities, but raising money for their cause has been a great motivation throughout the whole training process. I have family members that require mobility aids and I’m therefore aware of the difficulties they face on an everyday basis. Thankfully we are able to provide them with everything they need, but I would like to have a chance to help people with mobility disabilities around the world who are not so lucky by fundraising for Walkabout. I think it’s essential to raise awareness about the work that Walkabout does and I am so excited to be a part of it.”

 

Merren Wallace

Walkabout Programmes Manager and Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 2018.

“I’d never done anything like a marathon or cycling sportive before I did RideLondon. When I signed up, I’d worked at Walkabout for 3 years and seen many people complete amazing challenges for us – and experienced first-hand the effect that their fundraising had on people in desperate need all over the world. I’d been lucky enough to meet hundreds of children and adults who wouldn’t have had mobility if it hadn’t been for the people that pushed themselves to raise money for our cause – so I decided it was my turn!

Training was hard, especially because I was travelling a lot with work, so had to spend a lot of time in Haitian and Kenyan gyms! But it was great to have the motivation to keep going – partly because I knew how hellish riding 100 miles without training would be; and partly because I had in mind the people I’d be helping by doing it. The race itself was incredible (despite torrential rain for 90 out of the 100 miles!) and I’ll be doing it again this year – I’d recommend doing something like this to everyone!”

 

Beth King

Harry Butterwick

Paris Marathon 2019

“Giving mobility is something you can’t put a price on – the gift brings freedom, dignity, joy and so much more. I am so proud and excited to be raising money for Walkabout Foundation, a fantastic charity which gives gifts like this all year round. Running a marathon is such an apt fundraiser for this charity given that that act of running is all about mobility. For me it is a privilege that I am physically able to run a marathon and I am extremely happy that my ability to run, will in turn, raise money to award the gift of a wheelchair, a gift of mobility, to so many that are in need.”

Suzanne Foley

Caroline Caliri

Bridget Seay

Betsy Caliri

Berlin Marathon 2019

“We chose to run for Walkabout because we are incredibly inspired by the foundation’s mission. As athletes, we sometimes take our own mobility for granted; injuries are a sobering reminder of this. Each of us was blown away by the statistics of people in developing countries who don’t have access to wheelchairs when needed. We want to help bring awareness to this issue and tackle the problem by providing more wheelchairs. We believe everyone has the right to MOVE despite any barriers that life throws in our way!”

Walkabout Returns To Tackle Refugee Crisis

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We have just returned from Northern Uganda, one of the poorest parts of the country and the heart of one of the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. With hundreds of people crossing the border every day, fleeing conflict and famine in South Sudan, Uganda is now host to over 1 million refugees.

Last year, we distributed 290 wheelchairs to refugees and local Ugandans that are currently subject to enormous pressure in what is a naturally deprived and low resource environment. This year, thanks again to Euromonitor International, we returned to take our mission one step further. As well as distributing a further 300 wheelchairs, we trained 13 local volunteers, many of them refugees themselves, in how to provide and maintain wheelchairs in a safe and sustainable way.

The possibilities for change in this region are endless. Now that we have started to create a skilled team of locals, we can continue to make a difference all year round, but we need your help to make this change last.

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