The large attendance for Benoni’s first Big Charity Walk left the organiser, Sandor Dowling of the World of Wellness (WOW) in Rynfield, in disbelief after about 200 community members came to support the event on March 9.
“I was surprised by the turnout. I had a few grumpy faces asking how I dared wake them up on a Sunday morning. But they came and did it with a smile. We appreciate their support and enthusiasm and hope they will be back for the next one,” said Dowling.
The 1.7km walk around the Bunny Park perimeter fence saw the young, elderly and people of all fitness levels do loops around the park for an hour while others stopped mid-walk to feed the animals in the facility.
Dowling organised the event to raise funds for Clean Projects to “continue with the beautiful work they do around Benoni” following a meeting with the NPO’s director, Alison Etherington, to discuss how they could collaborate to improve Benoni.
“Alison, her team, and I bonded over a cup of coffee and realised we have many similar ideas about trying to get the community together and support each other. We decided to put together a big charity walk to raise funds for Clean Projects.”
Dowling commended Clean Projects for their work around the community, adding that WOW decided that the organisation will be their charity of focus this year.
“We have been involved with the SPCA, Elevation Hub and many other charities. This year, we felt that Clean Projects kept going out there without praise and helped our community. We thought this walk would be a good one to try and make it an annual event with Clean Projects.
“We need to protect and care for our community. If there’s a team like Clean Projects that puts in that effort, why not support them? Why not come together as a community to ensure we support each other?”
Etherington thanked Dowling and her team for this initiative, “We are grateful to Sandor for initiating and organising the first big charity walk for Benoni.”
Dowling thanked the community and her sponsors, saying she hoped this would be an annual event.
“It was a great success. Over 200 people came. We hope it can be an annual thing. Thanks to all our sponsors and all those who supported and contributed to making the day successful.”
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