Welcome to Yorkshire’s ‘Tour de Walkshire' starts

In place of this weekend’s postponed annual Tour de Yorkshire international cycling event, Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Cancer Research have launched the Tour de Walkshire to raise vital funds, as well as awareness, for this incredibly important charity and its life-changing cancer research. The event will take place throughout the month of May and has already hit over 50% of its £50,000 charity target before it’s even started.

Everyone is encouraged to get involved in the Tour de Walkshire, to walk, cycle, run or push at whatever individual distance chosen, throughout this month-long exciting event. It’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy meeting up with friends, family and colleagues outdoors, whilst raising money for Yorkshire Cancer Research in beautiful Yorkshire.
https://join.yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk/event/tour-de-walkshire-2021/home

To reach the targeted £50,000 would have a huge impact on so many people:

£50,000 could fund 100 lung health checks, helping to save lives by finding cancer at the earliest possible stage
£50,000 could provide personalised cancer exercise programmes for 150 people, helping to improve treatment and reduce the risk of cancer returning
£50,000 could connect as many as 3,000 extra people with essential screening services, helping to save lives by preventing cancer and finding cancer early.

A host of celebrity participants will be taking part in the #TourdeWalkshire and they will be announced throughout May. All who register to be part of this fantastic charity event will receive a FREE Tour de Walkshire t-shirt AND if you hit the £250 fundraising target, a Yorkshire Cancer Research bottle and a Welcome to Yorkshire Y badge will be sent to each individual as a special thank you.

Yorkshire Cancer Research is the official charity partner of Welcome to Yorkshire’s #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. 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 100,000 page views and the first week’s launch figures revealed a 1.5 million online reach and 3.7 million total impressions.

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.

Dr Kathryn Scott (pictured), chief executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “We’re blown away by the incredible support we’ve seen so far for Tour de Walkshire. We’ve heard so many poignant reasons why people are taking part, either for themselves or on behalf of friends and family who are having cancer treatment right now. This amazing team of fundraisers is already well on the way to achieving the charity’s fundraising target, which will save many lives in Yorkshire through preventing cancer, improving early diagnosis and bringing world-class treatment to the region. We just want to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to all those taking part on behalf of everyone affected by cancer in Yorkshire.”

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive James Mason said: “It’s fantastic news that the Tour de Walkshire has raised over 50% of its £50,000 fundraising target before we’ve even started the event and what an immense impact that will have for Yorkshire Cancer Research and people diagnosed with cancer. It’s a big thank you to everyone involved so far for raising funds and awareness. The more people who sign up, get involved and sponsor teams and individuals, will help us reach the £50,000. target. Who knows, we may even raise more which would be amazing.

As this weekend’s annual Tour de Yorkshire cycling race has been 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 is the perfect way to do this and will be fun for all throughout the month of May, raising vital funds for Yorkshire Cancer Research, the outstanding official charity partner of Welcome to Yorkshire.

Cancer is not exclusive. Almost everyone in the county will know someone affected by cancer. As such this is a cause we should all get behind. Yorkshire Cancer Research undertake vital research to support those impacted by this disease whilst investing in groundbreaking medical advancements. We hope that Welcome to Yorkshire’s strong brand and global support received for its exciting events will help us to raise a significant amount of awareness and money for this important charity. Please be part of the Tour de Walkshire.”

Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Cancer Research are particularly proud of this Tour de Walkshire initiative, promoting the county, as well as fitness and well-being, and benefitting a crucial cause simultaneously.

For further information: https://www.yorkshire.com/walkshire/tour-de-walkshire