Paul Popham Fund celebrates World Kidney Day with the return of Kilometres for Kidneys

Swansea-based kidney charity, Paul Popham Fund, Renal Support Wales has announced the return of its highly anticipated fundraising event, Kilometres for Kidneys, launching on March 10, 2022 – World Kidney Day.

The charity’s Kilometres for Kidneys event encourages a healthy and active lifestyle while also raising awareness and vital funds for the Children’s Kidney Centre, Cardiff. The Paul Popham Fund is inviting people of all fitness levels to choose from a variety of exercise challenges to either walk or run and hopes to have over 100 entrants this year.

The event starts on World Kidney Day, Thursday, March 10, and finishes a month later, on Sunday, April 10. The event will conclude with the Finale Event: The Big Kilometres for Kidney Walk, where participants are invited to walk their final 1km and follow a specific route in the shape of a kidney – the person with the best shaped kidney on Strava will receive a Trophy!

Participants can choose from 4 challenges of varying difficulty, ranging from easy (20km) to very hard (270km). Last year’s event was successful in raising over £1,000 for the charity and there were 97 participants. Funds raised will contribute to the refurbishment of the Children’s Kidney Centre, Cardiff, details of which can be found here.

This year, prizes are being awarded for Best Effort, Best Photo, First to Complete the Bingo Challenge, First to Complete each Difficulty Level (20km, 80km, 160km, 270km), and Best Drawn Kidney on Strava at the Finale Event on the 10th of April.

Each winner will receive a Trophy and a Paul Popham Fund branded Cap and Water Bottle. A medal and certificate will be awarded to every participant who completes their chosen Kilometres for Kidneys Challenge.

This year we have introduced a BINGO Challenge for every day of the month to keep your Kilometres for Kidneys journey fun and exciting. The Bingo Challenge features 31 challenges like ‘Tell us Your Story’ and ‘Wear Yellow in support of World Kidney Day’ in a pledge to raise awareness of kidney disease and in support of World Kidney Day.

World Kidney Day is an important date not just for the Paul Popham Fund, but for people worldwide. 1 in 10 have kidney disease, so this annual campaign coordinated in the UK by the Kidney Charities Together Group aims to raise awareness of kidney health.

The World Kidney Day Joint Steering Committee has declared 2022 the year of “Kidney Health for All”. The campaign will focus on efforts to increase education and awareness about kidney health and on reducing the knowledge gap on chronic kidney disease.

Joanne Popham, CEO of the Paul Popham Fund, said:

“We are excited to bring back our fantastic Kilometres for Kidneys challenge. It was a huge success last year, and it was brilliant to see so many people getting involved and giving it a go. As a charity, we are committed to bridging the knowledge gap to better kidney care through raising awareness and education, pledging to support better kidney care for all.

So, get involved – keep mentally and physically fit whilst helping us raise vital funds for people with kidney disease, to help them and their families lead a better quality of life. Thank you and good luck to all participants!”

Full details about the challenge, and how to sign up can be found at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kilometres-for-kidneys-registration-265794908727.