A Wolverhampton fundraising event has found a neat way around one of the awkward bits of sponsored challenges: participants can simply turn up and move, while local businesses provide the charity pot.
Best Foot Forward, organised by the Rotary Club of the City of Wolverhampton, returned to Aldersley Stadium in June with people walking, running and wheeling laps at their own pace.
A group of around 30 corporate patrons builds the main fund before the event. Each lap then helps release money for the chosen charities, with the structure designed to guarantee each main charity at least £3,000 and allow the total to rise to £5,000 depending on participation.
The 2026 and 2027 beneficiaries are Wolverhampton Coronary Aftercare Support Group, Sponsored Breaks and the Rotary Club’s charitable trust. Other local organisations can also use the day as their own sponsored challenge and keep the money their supporters raise.
Since the event began in 2013, the organisers say its main charity fund and additional fundraising by participating groups have generated more than £234,000. It is essentially a community walk where turning up is valuable before anybody has even shaken a sponsorship form at their colleagues.