Bristol cancer charity, Penny Brohn UK needs our help. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic effect with the cancellation of thousands of events and the loss of billions of income through fundraising events. Penny Brohn UK is expecting to lose over £500,000 from cancelled events in April and May alone.
The 2.6 Challenge is a simple and fun way to get involved and make a huge difference, keeping services running now and in the future. The Virgin Money London Marathon, which should have taken place on Sunday 26th April, is the world’s biggest one-day fundraising event, which raised more than £66.4 million for thousands of charities in 2019. As it cannot take place as planned, its organisers have created a “lockdown-friendly event” which is easy for anyone to join in and make a difference, especially for smaller local charities. Every small “event” can add up to something worthwhile.
The campaign, The 2.6 Challenge, will launch on Sunday 26 April 2020 – what should have been the date of the 40th London Marathon – and will last for a week. The 2.6 Challenge is open to anyone of any age – the only requirement is that the activity must follow the Government guidelines on exercise and social distancing and remember to stay local. The challenge is to dream up an activity based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and fund raise.
Taking up the 2.6 Challenge can be as simple as walking or running 2.6 miles or kms. You could hop the length of your garden 26 times, cycle 2.6 miles, do 26 push-ups, host a quiz with 26 questions, create 26 Tik Toks, juggle for 2.6 minutes or anything else you can think of. It can be a sponsored activity, or a donation – £2.60 or £26 – whatever is affordable – it all adds up and will make a big difference to the well being of people living with cancer.
Penny Brohn UK has been supporting the holistic needs of people with cancer for 40 years and remains committed to giving people the support they need during this time of crisis. It is continuing to provide the much-needed support and advice that people living with cancer need during this difficult time in their lives, through online support groups and over the phone one-to-one services.
Meet Lucas and Izzy Almond aged three and five. Their mother Sam is actually from Clevedon. Lucas will be taking on his own endurance challenge to raise sponsorship – sliding down his slide into his paddling pool of water 26 times. Izzy, his sister is doing 26 toe taps and ballet bends and as a family they’re doing a 2.6km walk every day for a week. This is the link to their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/isobel-s-2-6-challenge2021
Ben, a Penny Brohn UK Client said:
‘For two years I’ve needed Penny Brohn. Now they need me. I’m challenging 26 friends and family to complete an ice bucket challenge and donate £5 to Penny Brohn. I can’t wait to see all the videos!
And then there’s Liv. Liv is taking on the challenge by cycling 2.6 miles and making a donation – then she’s challenging 26 of her friends to do the same. Here she is with her dog Penny who was named after the charity!
Liv’s father was supported by Penny Brohn UK for ten years before he sadly died. She has been deeply worried about how the pandemic has affected the charity so she jumped at the chance to get involved in The 2.6 Challenge. This is a link to Liv (Olivia Meacham) JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/olivia-s-2-6-challenge1538
The mass-participation event organisers behind The 2.6 Challenge are: Human Race, parkrun, The Great Run Company, Run 4 Wales, Grounded Events, London Landmarks, Virgin Sport, Limelight Sports, Threshold Sports, Running High and London Marathon Events. The design and website has been created by Studio Republic and the social media campaign by LiveWire Sport. Both agencies are working pro bono. The campaign is supported by the Charities Aid Foundation, the Institute of Fundraising, the Small Charities Coalition, the Office for Civil Society, Sport England, Let’s Do This, Virgin Money Giving and JustGiving.
If you would like to donate or know more information on The 2.6 Challenge, visit http://pennybrohn.org.uk/get-involved/ twopointsixchallenge
Contact: Head of Events and Community: Emma Gilmore: fundraising@pennybrohn.org.uk
About Penny Brohn UK (formerly Penny Brohn Cancer Care)
Penny Brohn UK is the leading charity in the UK to take an integrated and whole person approach to cancer support, recognising that people need more than medicine to live well with the disease. We see each person as a unique individual with their own set of hopes and needs – a whole person made up of mind, body, spirit and emotions. Through our free adult residential and day courses we help people to feel empowered to reclaim control of our health, to recover what it was that made them feel whole in the first place, and to rediscover the joy of living: to turn a potentially devastating diagnosis into a powerful life-changing experience. There is more to health than simply what is going on in our bodies; to be resilient and to function as well as we can, we need to pay attention to our mental, emotional and spiritual well being as well as our physical health. Over 2.5 million people are living with cancer in the UK and the number is rising every year. Over 50% of people living with a cancer diagnosis have unmet holistic needs. The challenge many people face is not dying, but living well. For almost 40 years we have been working compassionately alongside people with cancer, placing them at the heart of all we do. Our whole person approach offers personalised care from the point of a cancer diagnosis into treatment and throughout survivorship. Exploring areas like diet, exercise, emotions, relationships and managing stress, our free courses, one-to-one therapies, and group sessions, work alongside standard medical treatment to achieve the best health and well being by supporting the holistic needs – psychological, emotional, spiritual and physical – of people affected by cancer. Penny Brohn UK is a registered charity and relies on donations and public generosity to keep its services free for all who need them. For more information call 0303 3000 118, email info@pennybrohn.org.uk or visit http://www.pennybrohn.org.uk