When Ellia Smith and her family decided to take on fundraising for OSCAR’s, they thought big!
OSCAR’s staff member Jessica, who lives in the same village and is normally found writing funding bids to trusts and foundations, found herself at the front of her first big in-person fundraising event. She shares what that was like – and encourages you to do the same!
Dartmoor
On Saturday 11th July, 63 walkers of all ages trekked across Dartmoor in the searing heat with very little shade. We had a blast.
We had no injuries and we even reached our checkpoints on time. Don’t laugh – I am a logistics person and things like this are important to me.
You can get caught up in all the detail of making an event like this work (all essential detail, of course) and how much it will raise (read on to find out), but what I discovered that was even more important than a good risk assessment or if all the medals and t-shirts arrived in the right place was a shared sense of being part of something much bigger than walking a long way across part of the country. I kind of knew I would discover this. Meeting a group of people who really wanted to make a difference because a little girl in our community wanted to give back to help other children affected by brain tumours was just beyond special, and something that I will never lose the feeling of, nor ever want to.
Family fundraising
The Dartmoor Family Challenge was an opportunity for a family that our charity supports to give back. An opportunity for their loved ones to feel like they were doing something useful, something meaningful, something tangible to help other families living through this devastating diagnosis and the inevitable turmoil that it brings. I know from talking to many of the walkers how affected they have been by Ellia’s diagnosis and how helpless they have felt in terms of how to support the family. Many of them live far away, have families of their own, full-time jobs. They carry a sense of helplessness because, frankly, what can you do when your friend’s child gets a diagnosis like this?
Events like this give people a real opportunity to help, to give back, to make a genuine difference.
Just one day
Fundraising firsts
For many of us, the day provided some firsts. For me, the first time organising a big event (I’m usually found doing other fundraising, like bid writing or overseeing our individual monthly giving programme). For Ellia’s family, the first time they’d gathered their friends, family and schoolmates together to do something collectively. For some people, the first time they’d walked that far.
Of course it was daunting and I was definitely tired after 17 kilometres although I didn’t notice that until the day after. There were a lot of logistics to think about, particularly because of the forecast and the lack of shade on Dartmoor. Making sure all the jigsaw pieces of an event are in the right box let alone the right place is tricky, but the experienced staff at OSCAR’s guided me in the background and Moorland Guides did the same to keep us safe on the walk.
Having not done anything like this before, either as a participant or an organiser, I can honestly say it was fantastic. Walking meant I got to talk to everyone throughout the day and felt a real shared sense of purpose. As opposed to when I go running and there is no time to stop and chat. Event organising is not my forté but with Moorland Guides’ support, as well as other staff members and of course Ellia and her family, it all felt very manageable.
Oh, and with other associated fundraising organised by Ellia, Dan, family and friends this fundraising first managed to raise an astonishing £19,317. One day that will make years of difference to those who need the support of OSCAR’s.
Your turn?
If you’re thinking of doing something like this yourself, please get in touch by emailing info@oscarscharity.org. We would love to support families up and down the country to replicate this type of event in their area.
And if you aren’t quite up to sorting it yourself just yet…then the 10th Annual OSCAR’s Walking Challenge takes place on May 2nd 2027. The Giants Trail is made-up of two walks for you to choose from of near-marathon and half-marathon distance. You can learn more and sign-up by clicking the link.
I’ve got the long-distance walking bug now and have signed-up already!
