Here at OTR Bristol, we are trying to find ways to keep fit and healthy while also maintaining our tradition of a summer fundraising challenge. In the last two years, our fantastic supporters, friends and staff conquered their fears by jumping out of a plane over the picturesque Salisbury as part of the #OTRSkydive. This year, sadly, we are unable to invite you to the skydive, so we came up with a different challenge, a bit more ‘down to earth’!
What is the OTR Summer Challenge 2020?
Instead of asking you to do a 10,000ft jump, we are dedicating July and August to an open personal challenge. Let’s conquer that 10,000ft distance on foot – that’s 3K (2 miles). We invite you to walk, run, skip, climb the stairs, cycle – however you want to tackle this distance, you will be a treasured member of our summer challenge team.
Last year we asked you all to do something rather extreme. This year we encourage you to go gentle instead. Be creative but also kind to yourself: choose a way of completing the distance that suits your current needs and abilities. If you are a keen runner or cyclist, you are more than welcome to do 3K every week, every day even. If you are a beginner or wish to become a bit more active – here is a great opportunity to start and work your way up to that distance.
Choose your own fundraising target. It might sound unusual for a fundraising challenge to have no strict targets. However, we understand that the current situation can cause financial challenges. We do not want to build up any expectations so please be relaxed and sensible about this challenge. Choose a target that is achievable for you and your friends. Every penny makes a difference to the work we are delivering to the young people in our area!
Why it’s important to support us this way
There are two reasons why the Summer Challenge is meaningful to us. First of all, we love our summer fundraising campaigns because they bring people together around giving. Secondly, giving makes us feel better. So we are very keen on maintaining this annual tradition this year too.
Secondly, as much as our summer challenges are about raising funds for OTR Bristol, they have proved to be very emotionally rewarding and bonding for our participants. And this year is very different – this year we are turning things around a bit and making this challenge about you. It is really important for us to know that you are keeping well and active so we would like to use our summertime to encourage just that.
How to join?
Go to our JustGiving campaign page here and set up your fundraising page (via “start fundraising” button). We have created a template copy there for you, so you can include your personal story and description of your challenge or use the default one. Don’t forget to join our Strava group to connect with other participants and cheer for each other.
We are open to your challenge ideas, but if you have any questions or need any support, please get in touch.
Go gentle. Stay safe. Stay well. Stay connected.