More than 50 people – from toddlers through to senior citizens – joined the BAPS Annual 10k Challenge in Southend-on-Sea on Sunday 7 May 2017.
The charity Challenge 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 Southend-on-Sea will go towards BAPS’s multifarious educational, community and spiritual activities serving children, youths, families and the elderly. In addition, this year’s national charity partner with BAPS is Alzheimer’s Society, one of the country’s largest charities fighting dementia.
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.
The event kicked off shortly after 12 noon from Southchurch Park in Southend.
After the opening ceremony, walkers moved along the 10-kilometre route from Southchurch Park, along the seafront on Eastern Esplanade on to Thorpe Hall Avenue, then on to Woodgrange Drive, and finally back towards Southchurch Park. Walkers completed the 10 kilometres by doing two laps of the route.
One of the lead volunteers for the event, Tarshan Patel, said, “Everyone who took part really enjoyed themselves, and it was great to see participants of all ages come together to raise funds for two very worthwhile charities.”