This weekend 15,000 women and men took to the streets of
London as part of a charity walk. Not any charity walk, but 13 or 26 miles
overnight, with everyone wearing a decorated bra. They were raising money for
Walk the Walk – a grant-making charity who fund projects researching breast
cancer and caring for women living with the disease.
The MoonWalk will always have a place in my heart as it’s
where my fundraising career started. Nine years ago I was living in Woking
(don’t ask), looking for temp work that would bring some cash in. An incredible
agency took the time to ask me what my long term career goals were and I was
offered a data entry job at Walk the Walk, processing donation forms.
At the time I was naive to how hard it can be to break into
the charity sector, especially if you can’t afford to be a London intern.
It wasn’t glamorous (litter picking after working 24 hours),
and it didn’t utilise any of my degree. But it threw me into the deep end of
working in a busy, dedicated team of brilliant individuals with a unified
desire to make the world a better place.
It saddens me that young people today are deterred from our
sector. I want to be out in colleges and universities, to dispel any myths and
offer support to the next generation of fundraisers. Who’s with me?
