Whether you’re volunteering or donating, giving your time or money can make a huge difference to local causes, helping them to provide much-needed support in the community.
One big way you can support the causes you care about is to get involved in fundraising challenges. A sponsored run, swim, hike or even skydive is a great way to raise funds and awareness at the same time as achieving your personal goals.
Reasons to get involved
To help inspire you, we’ve put together some of the biggest benefits of taking part in a challenge for charity.
1. Make a difference in your community
Getting sponsored for fundraising challenges has never been easier, with websites like JustGiving and GoFundMe providing a straightforward way to receive donations and share your challenge widely across social media.
A recent report commissioned by the Fundraising Regulator shows that donating through sponsorships and online fundraisers are some of the most popular ways of giving to charity, so your efforts are likely to have a big impact on the charity you’re supporting.
2. Meet new people
Team fundraising events give you the chance to meet like-minded people who care about the same causes as you. If you’re taking on a physical challenge, you can expect to cheer each other on as you get through it and celebrate what you’ve accomplished together.
3. Boost your fitness
Many fundraising events involve some level of physical challenge, whether it’s hiking up a mountain or running a marathon. Setting yourself the task of preparing for the event is a great way to help you meet your fitness goals and achieve something new, all while raising money for a good cause.
Some charities even partner with organisations like Overlimits to help everyone taking part to prepare physically for the event so they can go into it feeling confident to take on the challenge.
4. Support your wellbeing
There’s so much about fundraising challenges that can boost your mental wellbeing. From getting active and spending time outdoors to socialising and supporting good causes, you’re bound to get floods of endorphins leading up to, during, and after completing your challenge.
5. Make memories
Often, taking part in a fundraising event means challenging yourself to do something you’ve never done before. Whether that’s stepping up from your usual 5k jog to a 10k or half-marathon, or throwing yourself out of a plane for a charity skydive, you’re likely to experience the elation of achieving something new that will stick with you for years.
How to get started
Itching to sign up for a fundraising challenge? There are a few ways you can get started.
Find an upcoming event
Decide which charity you’d like to support and have a look at their website to see if they have any events coming up. If you can’t see any, you could always drop them an email or message on social media to see if there’s anything in the works and express your interest.
Organise your own challenge
There’s nothing to stop you from finding your own way to raise money for your chosen charity. You could ask people to sponsor you to take part in an organised event like a swim or run, or come up with your own challenge.
Let your chosen charity know if you’re organising your own event. They’ll probably want to share what you’re doing on their own channels to raise awareness.
We’re so grateful to everyone who takes part in challenges to raise vital funds for Simon on the Streets. Every member of Team Simon, past and present, has played a really important role in the work we do.
If you’re interested in getting involved, you can find more fundraising ideas on our website as well as details of our upcoming events. There are still spaces left to join us on our Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on Saturday 27th July.
Plus, keep your eyes peeled for the return of Simon’s Big Sleep Out, coming soon…