‘Tour de Walkshire' steps up and hits £100,000

Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Cancer Research launched the Tour de Walkshire on 1st May with a month-long £50,000 fundraising target… with time to spare the fabulous fundraisers taking part have achieved over double this amount and raised over £100,000. for life-changing cancer research.

The Tour de Walkshire is part of Welcome to Yorkshire’s year-long #Walkshire initiative, which has captured the imagination of so many people across the county, the nation and the world, since its launch on New Year’s Day and Yorkshire Cancer Research is the official charity partner. A walk for every day of the year and more, #Walkshire is the most inclusive of campaigns and can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities, with wonderful well-being and health benefits. Walkshire’s popularity is immense with walkshire.com already seeing over 160,000 page views, plus more than 8m total impressions … AND it’s just been announced that Welcome to Yorkshire’s ‘Walkshire’ is a finalist in the prestigious UK Social Media Awards!!!

With many people participating across the county and further afield, the Tour de Walkshire has been an immense success, with fantastic fundraisers signed up from across the world, including California and Iowa in the US, as well as Austria, Germany and London, all with a love of our great county. It’s even had the seal of approval from multi-award-winning actor and proud Yorkshireman, Sir Patrick Stewart, tweeting from LA to his 3.6m followers “This fundraiser will make my beloved Yorkshire even lovelier” AND former England and Yorkshire cricketer Ryan Sidebottom has declared he’s “bowled over” by the impressive fundraising efforts. He loves a century!

As it’s a fun fundraiser, encouraging all involved to enjoy the great Yorkshire outdoors for a fantastic cause, the CEOs from Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Cancer Research, James Mason and Dr Kathryn Scott respectively, have decided to go head-to-head in a challenge to hit their individual 450 miles target … BUT who will achieve this first?

Huge thanks to everyone who’s helped to raise £100,000.

£100,000 could fund 200 lung health checks, helping to save lives by finding cancer at the earliest possible stage
£100,000 could provide personalised cancer exercise programmes for 300 people, helping to improve treatment and reduce the risk of cancer returning
£100,000 could connect as many as 6,000 extra people with essential screening services, which help prevent cancer by identifying cells which will become cancerous if not treated, and finding cancers early when they are far easier to treat

Statistics show that 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer and the impact on individuals, as well as their loved ones is immense. Every week in Yorkshire, 592 people are told that they have the disease. Yorkshire Cancer Research’s goal is that by 2025, at least 2,000 more people across the county survive cancer every year. Raising awareness, continued research and vital fundraising are all of the utmost importance to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Yorkshire Cancer Research chief executive Dr Kathryn Scott said: “We’re thrilled that we’ve managed to smash our increased target of £100,000 – just in time for a final push this Bank Holiday weekend. As a result of the pandemic, there’s a massive need to innovate and we’ve got a huge amount of new research ready to be funded with the money raised through the Tour de Walkshire. This has been a fantastic boost to our fundraising given the drop in income we’ve experienced during the past 12 months.

“We’d just like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has taken part. We’ve seen such a variety of challenges from hundreds of people across the region, from walking every day to cycling the perimeter of our beautiful county – and even canoeing a half marathon! It’s even more incredible considering what a wet May it’s been. We’re so proud of the way supporters across Yorkshire have come together to make this amazing achievement happen.”

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive James Mason said: “It’s tremendous that the Tour de Walkshire has raised over £100,000. with donations still pouring in for Yorkshire Cancer Research. Huge thanks to everyone who’s taken part or contributed in any way.

With this month’s annual Tour de Yorkshire cycling race having to be postponed until 2022 due to the pandemic, we wanted to create an inclusive and exciting event to bring people together (following government guidelines of course) in the great outdoors, to encourage fitness and well-being, fundraise and also raise essential awareness for an amazing charity, plus showcase our breathtaking county. The Tour de Walkshire has been perfect for all this.

“Cancer is not exclusive. Almost everyone in the county will know someone affected by cancer. Yorkshire Cancer Research undertake vital research to support those impacted by this disease whilst investing in groundbreaking medical advancements. We’ve already seen Welcome to Yorkshire’s strong brand and global support helping raise a significant amount of awareness and money for this important charity, and any further donations would be hugely appreciated.

As for the 450 miles challenge which Dr Kathryn Scott, from Yorkshire Cancer Research, and I are trying to achieve individually … I’d better get walking and pedalling because she’s streets ahead … literally!”

For further information and gratefully received donations: https://www.yorkshire.com/walkshire/tour-de-walkshire & https://join.yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk/event/tour-de-walkshire-2021/home