Around 160 people – from toddlers through to senior citizens – joined the BAPS Annual 10K Challenge in Luton on Saturday 7 May 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 in Luton will go towards BAPS’s multifarious educational, community and spiritual activities serving children, youths, families and the elderly. Some of the funds will also be donated to the Luton and Dunstable Children’s Ward, which treats over 10,000 children every year, many of whom have special needs, including visual impairments, physical or mental disabilities, and include those who have experienced a trauma.
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. Locally, the Challenge has helped Keech Hospice Care in the past.
The event kicked off shortly after 12.15pm under the blue skies of Stockwood Park Athletic Centre.
After the opening ceremony, walkers and runners moved around the athletic track to complete the 10 kilometres.
Adults and children also enjoyed plenty of other healthy exercise as they participated in various sports and games after the Challenge, rounding off a thoroughly fun day out for the whole family.
Premvati Shah, a participant, shared: “The day was great fun for my family and so satisfying for me personally knowing that our small efforts today would be helping so many people in so many ways.”
One of the lead volunteers for the event, Raj Pancholi, added: “We’re very grateful for all the generous support we receive for such an inspiring event, and to see so many people come out on a Saturday afternoon for this worthy cause is just heartening and humbling.”