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.
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 [...]
Recognition for WATCH
Mark Crossley receiving acknowledgement from the prime minister by private letter and recognised by the government’s points of light scheme, which awards for charitable and voluntary work , it was received on behalf of everyone at WATCH #walkingsbrilliant
Community Recovery (Kendray Hospital) Netball and Football – £969
Provide sports equipment to support mental health sessions. 15 x adults football kits, 10 x footballs, 2 x full sets of Netball bibs and 10 x Netballs.
Alfie’s Squad – £500
GoFundMe support of a charity fundraising event which involved abseiling down the main stand at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium. Alfie's Squad is a non-profit organisation which supports children bereaved by suicide in and around Merseyside. It was set up by then-9-year-old Alfie, who lost his dad in 2017 at the age of 8. Now at the age of 14, Alfie has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the lack of specific support for children bereaved by suicide. Chris Kirkland took part and completed the abseil as part of the fundraising team.