More than 120 people from toddlers through to senior citizens took to the streets in Birmingham on Sunday 7 May 2017 for the BAPS Annual 10k Challenge.
The funds from this year’s event will go towards Alzheimer’s Society, the country’s leading charity fighting dementia, and BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s multifarious education, community and spiritual activities serving children, youths, families and the elderly.
Previous national partners for BAPS and BAPS Charities have included Age UK, the Anthony Nolan Trust, Barnardo’s, Breast Cancer Care, the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, KIDS, and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Throughout the day, BAPS Charities provided a free cardiovascular health check-up, which involved a blood pressure reading, body mass index, waist circumference and glucose blood test. Over 50 people benefited from this check-up where doctors provided individual consultations to those who attended.
Local volunteers from Alzheimer’s Society were also present to promote awareness of dementia with information leaflets and advice.
The event kicked off shortly after 11am at Robin Hood Academy on Pitmaston Road in the presence of Hall Green Councillors Liz Clements, Barry Bowles and Kerry Jenkins.
After the opening ceremony, walkers, joggers and runners moved along the carefully planned route in Hall Green, spurred on by support from members of the community.
Vasant Parikh, lead volunteer for BAPS in Birmingham, shared, “Everyone who participates every year has encouraged others to take part and make a difference in the lives of many more. We are really pleased with the support received from our neighbours and the local community. It’s been an absolutely fantastic day for the whole family.”
Sima Shingadia spoke of how enjoyable the day had been. “Today I did the walk with my friends. It was great to see so many people of all ages participating and doing their bit to help these great causes.”
A member of the local community mentioned how he had benefitted from the cardiovascular health check. “I was delighted because I wasn't actually going to get my sugar level checked, but then I decided to come by here. They found that it was high so I’m going to go to my doctors now to get it checked out.”