Looking for some inspiration for your next challenge? Here are some stories from fundraisers who’ve run, trekked and pedalled the miles, raised the funds and proudly worn the Barnardo’s T-shirt.
Adam
Event: Great North Run 2022
Amount raised: £2,271.43
In 2022, 24 years after he first took on the challenge, Adam joined Team Barnardo’s for the Great North Run to celebrate his 50th year in style and to see if after those years he could still cross the finish line at this iconic race!
Adam was inspired to take on this challenge for Barnardo’s through his work in Special Education Needs Schools across Northern Ireland, where he saw first-hand the support Barnardo’s offers to children and young people through School Based Counselling services. He said, “I was delighted to see the entry fee for Barnardo’s was only £15 and only needing to raise £350 made it a challenge I would relish!”
Adam showed a real passion and dedication to his fundraising and when we asked if he had any advice for other challenge event runners he said, “Top tips, fundraise early! Tell people, it will inspire your training and don’t stop nagging! If you don’t ask you won’t get… it worked for me. When the training may be a little hard or you can’t be bothered etc... having that knowledge of your JustGiving page helps kickstart the positiveness again... go for it!”
When race day finally came not only did Adam cross the finish line in fantastic time, with his son and the Barnardo’s Team to greet him at the end, he also raised an incredible £2,271.43!
Well done Adam on your amazing achievement and thank you again for choosing Team Barnardo’s!
Graham
Event: Sponsored Run, as part of fundraising for the 2022 TCS London Marathon
Amount Raised: £3,400
“I had been running for what seemed a very long time and had never felt the calling to run for charity in the past. However, this all changed when I lost my adoptive mum, or my ‘mum’ as I have always called her, in April 2021.
I was lucky enough to be adopted at birth, but I know that many children are not so lucky; they find themselves, through no fault of their own, in care and requiring help from organisations like Barnardo’s to find them a family of their own. Barnardo’s do so much great work helping to protect, support and nurture the most vulnerable of children and this is why I chose to run the 2022 TCS London Marathon for them.
It was no easy task to reach the minimum fundraising target of £2,200, but even in current times, the generosity of others amazed me, and I ended up surpassing this, raising £3,400. I knew friends and family would support such a brilliant cause but what surprised me was that people I had never even met wanted to give. Barnardo’s supported me every step of the way, checking in to see how my training was going along with professional sports coaches for help and advice. Along with this, I had regular words of advice and encouragement for my fundraising - all positive support and no pressure."
Natalie
Event: Sponsored Run, as part of fundraising for the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon
Amount Raised: £3,714
"My two boys attend a lovely village primary school and I had an idea to organise a sponsored run as part of my Barnardo’s marathon fund-raising. Once the Headteacher and I had confirmed a date for the sponsored run, I wrote a letter to parents to inform them about the event, and I also joined a school assembly through Zoom to tell the children all about it - it was wonderful to see how excited they were!
Each child went home from school that day with a Barnardo’s sponsor form. I also attached an envelope for them to return after the event, with the completed sponsor forms and any money raised. The sponsored run was held in the field next to the school, which I decorated with Barnardo's banners and balloons - the children were sponsored for how many laps of the field they could do in 30 minutes. A couple of classes came out at a time and I gave each child a little piece of card. They ran with this card and each time they did a lap of the field I put a star sticker on their card. At the end they counted the stars to see how many laps they had completed, and then they then took this card home to show their parents and collect the money.
The final amount was the whopping great sum of £3,714! I had been hoping for around £600, so this was incredible, especially as it is just a small village school. Not only did this event raise lots of money, but I felt the children and the school also gained so much from the whole experience. The school also have a lovely Barnardo’s bear and a certificate to display to remember and celebrate all the money they raised!"
Sue
Event: 175km Walk in 10 Days
Amount raised: £918
Sue decided to take part in a 175 Challenge to celebrate Thomas Barnardo's 175th Birthday at the beginning of July 2020. Sue is already a volunteer for Barnardo's but decided to challenge herself to walk 175km over 10 days. Sue completed her challenge and raised over £900 for Barnardo's in the process.
Sue said ‘Thomas Barnardo has always been one of my heroes because of his heart full of compassion and his passion to help destitute children. Barnardo's as an organisation has the same basis and values I have in my own life.
My husband asked me if I would like to walk 17.5km for Thomas Barnardo's 175th birthday. I knew I could do that in a day and then the idea of doing 17.5 km for 10 days and getting sponsorship came to fruition. Even though I found some of the days very hard, I still enjoyed every day of the walk as it gave me the opportunity to talk to people about the incredible services Barnardo's runs for children young people and families. On my Just Giving page updates I highlighted a service each day so that people became aware of the need to keep the services running.’
Well done Sue - a huge achievement!
IDS Team
Event: Great North Run 2019
Amount Raised: £8,000
In 2019, one of our corporate partners, International Decorative Surfaces, decided to take on the 2019 Great North Run in support of Barnardo’s. Together as a team of over 20 staff members, they managed to raise over £8,000 for Barnardo’s.
Michael, who helped to put the team together, said;
‘International Decorative Surfaces are always looking at ways to support charities and with the Great North run taking place near to home for me I felt that it would be a great way to get people from other branches involved and raise a lot of money. The team that volunteered really helped each other out with messages of support and regular updates on how the sponsorship was going. It was fantastic as we got closer to the event and saw the total get over the £8000 mark’.
An incredible effort - thank you so much to the team!
Jac
Event: Cardiff Half Marathon 2019
Amount Raised: £600
Jac ran the Cardiff Half Marathon for Barnardo’s raising over £600.
‘I chose Barnardo’s because of the fantastic work you do day in and day out. We need to do more to help young children in poverty and in need of our support, so I wanted to do something positive and healthy to raise money for a well-respected children’s charity and thought the Cardiff Half Marathon would be a great opportunity to raise more awareness and raise funds.
I had so much support from Barnardo’s throughout my training, on the day of the race and post-race. I would absolutely recommend and encourage others to raise funds for such a great cause.
I was very much overwhelmed with the generosity and support of my family & friends, with raising double my initial target I was so pleased that others were getting on board with helping me raise funds for an important charity.’
Frank
Event: Everest at home
Amount raised: £1,299
To keep himself busy while stuck at home 13 year old Frank decided to climb the height of Everest on his stairs. Over 7 days Frank climbed up and down 2 flights of stairs 1525 times to reach the 8,848 metre height of Everest.
“I really missed football training, matches and kick-a-bouts with my friends during lockdown. There's only so much xbox you can play, TV you can watch or books you can read.
I thought it'd be good to have a physical challenge that I could complete while raising some money to help others whose lives may be far harder than mine right now.”
Ryan
Event: Aylesbury to Paris Cycle
Amount Raised: £1,100
Trainee teacher Ryan set himself the challenge of cycling the equivalent distance of his home Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire to Paris a whopping 336.2 miles over a month! Although Ryan didn’t make it to Paris in person he entertained his friends and family with virtual updates and raised over £1,100 for Barnardo’s.
‘As a trainee teacher, I have already met and taught lots of vulnerable children, some who rely on the support of charities like Barnardo's to help them thrive daily and get the great childhood they deserve. Some children have starts to life which are unimaginable to those such as myself who have grown up in healthy loving homes and that simply isn't fair!’