The Power of Team Kiltwalk

As The Kiltwalk has grown in not only number of walkers, but also events, our objectives and beneficiaries have grown and will continue to do so, until we reach our stated goal of to becoming Scotland’s best known and most loved way of fundraising for children’s charities and causes.

When we kicked off as a brand new charity in 2012 we had a single event, which quickly became two with the addition of Speyside where our aim was to work together with Scotland’s leading children’s charities to support Scotland’s disadvantaged children so chose CHAS, CLIC Sargent, Aberlour Children’s Trust and TACC as our core partners.

However it became clear, fairly quickly, The Kiltwalk could and should be a vehicle to support all children in Scotland, so we therefore extended our proposition to include Tier 2 Partners and Teams.

The addition of Tier 2 Partners has been a great success and has enabled The Kiltwalk to team up with local Children’s Hospital in our chosen Kiltwalk areas, which has had a dramatic effect on fundraising, as these Charities lye at the heart of the local communities.

The move towards our Kiltwalk Teams was driven by the fact that many people wanted to take part and raise money for a specific Kiltwalk Charity Partner in recognition of the support received from them.

Moreover it allowed us to extend our reach to all Oor Bairns and support key children’s causes or organisations such as Mother & Toddlers Groups, Schools, Playgroups, Disabled Clubs, Children with Diabetes groups or community cafes such as Windmills in Motherwell, the team I walked for, who provide training and work experience for young people with learning disabilities.

The team concept is a brilliantly simple one, where groups of five or more walkers can take part as a Team and walk for a cause that resonates with them. The money received via sponsorship goes initially to The Kiltwalk, however 50% of what is raised is then given back via the award of a Kiltwalk Grant Cheque.

One team who realised the impact this could have on their ability to raise funds was FOLLAT, who are the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs and a registered charity in their own right.

FOLLAT have three objectives with are Conservation - ensuring our natural heritage, land and water resources are sustainably managed and protected. Visitor Experience - establishing and promoting the National Park as one of Scotland’s premiere sustainable tourism destinations where our special qualities are respected and enjoyed by all. Rural Development - enabling and promoting sustainable development that supports and enhances local distinctiveness and sense of place, encourages enterprise and innovation and improves the quality of life for our local communities.

Now at this point perhaps some are thinking “what does a charity concerned with Conservation, Visitor Experience and Rural Development have to do with Children?”

If you were one of those then read what they do again and if I pick out “quality of life for our local communities” then you’ll see their aim to put together a team to fund raise for children’s projects that include:

- New themed nature play areas
- Adventure days out in the National Park for disadvantaged children
- Safe Park trails for all children
- Assisting with the purchase of a wheelie boat for disabled children

So that’s exactly what they did, or to be précise that’s exactly what Sandra Dyson did where she harangued, bullied and harassed her pals and her pals, pals to join Team FOLLAT, all 130 of them, where the result of their efforts meant Team FOLLAT raised an incredible £30,000!!

Commenting on the fundraising effort, Friends Chairman James Fraser said: '' The level of interest in the Kiltwalk fundraising event from local residents and Park businesses took us by surprise but it was very encouraging to see so many people getting enthusiastically involved to raise funds for an impressive range of children's projects.

He added: '' The funds raised will make a real difference in helping to provide opportunities for children to enjoy Scotland's first National Park and to enrich their outdoor experiences''

This brings us today's Blipfoto picture of one of those brand new play area in Moss o Balloch, which as you can imagine has been a huge hit with both local families and people visiting the area . . . and was partly funded by FOLLAT on the back of their massive Kiltwalk team of walkers!

Moral of the story?

If you’re taking part in a Kiltwalk this year, or next and want to make a real difference to a children’s cause you support put a team together.

One person can approach ten people for sponsorship and receive sponsorship from them, which is great. However if you get those get pals, work colleagues or family members together in a team, they can go and ask ten people to sponsor them and even I can work out 100 sponsors will raise more than 10 :-)

Go for it and make a difference, FOLLAT did.