The 2.6 Challenge: what can you do?

Kidney Research UK calls on supporters to join The 2.6 Challenge from Sunday 26 April 2020.

Thousands of mass participation events have been cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing uncertainty to UK charities which rely on these events for vital fundraising income. Cambridgeshire-based charity Kidney Research UK is among those affected, with around 2,600 supporters facing cancellations and delays to events they were fundraising for. 

New campaign aims to raise vital funds 

To help UK charities, the organisers of the biggest mass participation sports events across the country have come together to create a new campaign to raise vital funds. 

The campaign, The 2.6 Challenge, will launch on Sunday 26 April 2020 – on what would have been the 40th London Marathon, which raised £66.4 million for charities in 2019 (£135,000 was raised by #TEAMKIDNEY for Kidney Research UK). The challenge will last for a week. The 2.6 Challenge is open to anyone of any age – the only requirement is that the activity must follow the Government guidelines on exercise and social distancing and remember to stay local.  

Kidney Research UK is part of The 2.6 Challenge and aims to have 2,600 supporters donating £26 each, raising £67,600 for the charity – and helping to keep life-saving medical research going. 

Help us support kidney patients and keep research going 

From Sunday 26 April 2020, we are asking you to dream up an activity based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and fundraise by donating on the Kidney Research UK 2.6 Challenge donation page or by creating your own 2.6 Challenge fundraising page from the Kidney Research UK Justgiving home page.

Marc Stowell, Executive Director of Communications and Income Generation at Kidney Research UK said, “The 2.6 Challenge is a great initiative and we’re delighted to be part of it. We would like all our supporters, plus their families and friends, to get involved. You can do your challenge in your own house or garden, at your own pace – so it really is open to everyone. Whether it’s baking 26 cupcakes, climbing your stairs 26 times, or doing 2.6 minutes of skipping, all we ask is that you donate £26 to our challenge page, or set up your own page and have your own target to raise - could you raise £260? With three million people in the UK having kidney disease, it’s vital that we keep research going. Thank you to everyone who is helping us by getting involved.” 

Kidney research doesn’t stop for Coronavirus 

Kidney Research UK, like so many charities, is experiencing the impact of the pandemic on its finances. Income over the year ahead could drop by nearly 50% - almost £5 million. But the charity is doing everything it can to keep research going and safeguard it for the future. 

Marc Stowell continued, “Kidney research and our work to support patients and families doesn’t stop for coronavirus. Kidney patients are one of the vulnerable groups and many are self-isolating. This is tough for them and for their families. Our research offers them hope – we need to make sure we can stay on track now more than ever. Our research means fewer people will be vulnerable in the future.”   

The 2.6 Challenge can be anything that works for you 

The 2.6 Challenge can be anything that works for you,” says Nick Rusling, Co-Chair of the Mass Participation Sports Organisers group (MSO) and CEO of Human Race. “You can run or walk 2.6 miles, 2.6km or for 26 minutes. You could do the same in your home or garden, juggle for 2.6 minutes, do a 26 minute exercise class or get 26 people on a video call and do a 26 minute workout – anything you like. We want people to get active, have fun and raise money to help Save the UK’s Charities by giving money or raising funds for the charity close to your heart.

“For many of the UK’s charities, the day of the London Marathon is the biggest fundraising day of the year,” said Hugh Brasher, Co-Chair of MSO and Event Director of London Marathon Events. “One of the founding pillars of the London Marathon was ‘to show how the family of mankind can be united’. We hope that The 2.6 Challenge, which starts on the day our 40th Race should have taken place, will embody that spirit and inspire people, families and communities to fundraise for their chosen charity to help Save the UK’s Charities. Right now, our vulnerable members of society need the help of charities more than ever before.” 

 

The mass-participation events organisers behind The 2.6 Challenge are: Human Race, parkrun, The Great Run Company, Run 4 Wales, Grounded Events, London Landmarks, Virgin Sport, Limelight Sports, Threshold Sports, Running High and London Marathon Events. The design and website has been created by Studio Republic and the social media campaign by LiveWire Sport. Both agencies are working pro bono.  The campaign is supported by the Charities Aid Foundation, the Institute of Fundraising, the Small Charities Coalition, the Office for Civil Society, Sport England, Let’s Do This, Virgin Money Giving and JustGiving. 

For more information on The 2.6 Challenge, visit twopointsixchallenge.co.uk

 



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