YLF Charity Walk

Back by popular demand, the YLF Charity Walk returned for its second year on Sunday 19th May. Once again the event was hosted by the Hilton Hotel, Maidstone which acted as the start and end point for the route which weaved its way through the stunning countryside and rolling hills in and around Boxley. It was a wonderful chance to not only experience the blooming of flowers and grazing of farm animals, but to also reflect on the importance of our mental health as we end Mental Health Awareness Week.

We were delighted to be joined by our Celebrity Ambassadors, Harry Reid (Actor and West End Star) and Ben Towers (Leading Entrepreneur), alongside over 150 walkers who had signed up to take part – a 500% increase in the total number of participants from last years’ walk! After the walk, there was chance to refresh and mingle at The Hilton, enter into a prize draw and receive certificates and goody bags.

Karen Knight, Fundraising Manager, said: “We were so delighted to receive such wonderful feedback from the walk last year that we knew we just had to do it again. It’s so important to engage the community in something they can enjoy and gives the opportunity to fundraise for a local cause – plus it’s an absolutely beautiful walk! We are thrilled with the outcome and have received many wonderful comments about how enjoyable and organised the day was.”

The funds raised will be used to support our front line projects which give young people the chance to experience new opportunities, build life skills, resilience and confidence, whilst also helping to tackle isolation. Our fundraising target has grown over the last 12 months to over £250,000 per year so the community spirit in events like this really do make a difference to our work.

Charity Walk participant, Jo, said, “This is the best charity walk I have taken part in. The walk was stunning and varied, my family and I had such a pleasant afternoon. Being greeted back at the hotel and to receive a goody bag was a special touch that made it all worthwhile.”

It was wonderful to see so many of our young people and volunteers at our event, spending quality time together.

Tyler, one of our young people said, "The charity walk was so fun and I got to see parts of Maidstone that I never thought existed. The best part for me was getting to talk to my mentor about things going on in my life and just get it off my chest. I’m glad the event raised so much money and I hope that YLF do lots more charity walks like these!"

We would like to thank all of our supporters for their generosity leading up to and on the day itself, with special thanks to:
The Hilton Hotel for their hospitality and donation of their venue
The Kent Police Cadets for volunteering their time to help coordinate the event
Lush for donating gifts for the goody bags
Oak on the Green and Keeling Fitness for donating raffle prizes

Finally, we would like to congratulate all our Charity Walk participants and those who raised extra funds to support the walk – a fantastic day!

More photos available on our Facebook page here