Raising money for worthy causes through walking & talking
It is well-publicised that athletes from all sports often suffer from mental illness. This can happen during a career but is particularly common after retirement from a professional sport.
Whilst mental health awareness and understanding are improving, we found that going out for a walk really does help to improve levels of stress and anxiety that can be built up over time.
Walking and talking can have many benefits, including weight loss, reduced anxiety and stress relief.
Our charity was founded by a group of ex-professional footballers and their friends. We got together to try to raise awareness of mental health issues arising after retirement from sport, but things blossomed into us supporting the wider mental health community and other local charities.
News & events
Follow the latest fundraising news and events from #walkingsbrilliant here. You can also follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
Ryhill FC fun day for 12 year-old Tom Hemmings – £500
Last year Ryhill FC under 12's player Tom Hemmings was diagnosed with an optic nerve glioma tumour and has been undergoing regular chemotherapy to treat it ever since diagnosis. Chemotherapy has an extensive list of side effects which Tom is experiencing which are not only exhausting for him but also for his family. On Saturday 8th February a family fun day was held at Ryhill FC to raise money for Tom and his family to go away on a nice holiday and take a break from it all, at a time when Tom is fit enough to do so. Walkings Brilliant donated £500 towards an overall total of £2450 which will give Tom, his sister and mum and dad an opportunity to spend some nice family time together away on holiday somewhere.
Barnsley Hospice/Walkings Brilliant – £500
We recently attended an event at Eaden's Bar in Barnsley to support our good friend Gerry Taggart in raising £2000 for local charities. £1500 was donated to Barnsley Hospice and £500 to Walkings Brilliant charities.
Walkings Brilliant Golf Day @ Tankersley Park GC
Wednesday 18th September saw us return to Tankersley Park Golf Club for another of our charity golf days. Once again, guest golfers were joined by a group of ex-professional footballers, managers, referees and other well-known faces. Our teams gathered at 11 am for breakfast and coffee in anticipation of a brilliant, sunshine-filled golf day. Whilst our golfers enjoyed their breakfast and coffee, they learned which celebrity they would be joined by to make up their team of four. Scorecards were handed out, rules were made clear and our golfers made their way to their designated starting hole to wait for the hooter to sound. The format for the day was a Texas Scramble with a shotgun start, with 26 teams of 4 taking part. Birdies were aplenty, with cheers ringing around the course throughout the day. As well as the overall scramble, there were prizes for nearest pins and longest drives up for grabs, plus photo opportunities with our celebs and their teams, and a well-stocked drinks cart doing the rounds providing refreshments. Following [...]