Around 300 people – from toddlers through to senior citizens – joined the BAPS Annual 10K Challenge in South London on Sunday 10 April 2016.
The charity Challenge organised by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) brought together more than 3,000 enthusiastic participants from towns and cities across the UK for a fun and healthy way to raise money for various worthy causes and local charities.
The funds from this year’s event will go towards BAPS’s multifarious educational, community and spiritual activities serving children, youths, families and the elderly.
Previous national partners, under the auspices of BAPS and BAPS Charities, have included the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, Breast Cancer Care, Age UK, Barnardo’s, KIDS, The Anthony Nolan Trust, and Macmillan Cancer Support.
The event kicked-off shortly after 10am from the Archbishop Lanfranc Academy in Croydon, in the presence of Cllr Tony Newman, Leader of Croydon Council.
After the opening ceremony, walkers and runners moved along the route through the heart of Croydon before returning to the Archbishop Lanfranc Academy for some well-deserved lunch and a host of fun and games for all ages.
BAPS volunteer Harish Patel said, “This is the second year running that we’ve held the 10K Challenge in South London, and it was extremely encouraging to see so many more participants take part this year so enthusiastically. Everyone really enjoyed themselves as we contributed to some very worthy causes, which is the most important thing. A big thank you also to all the volunteers for their tireless efforts.”