The nearly two thousand ladies who took part in Rowcroft’s sell-out Sleep Walk have pledged to raise a massive £168,800.19 for the hospice.
The impressive total does not take into account sales of merchandise and other funds raised on the night, which are set to make the amount rise again in the coming days.
South Devon’s biggest ladies-only night walk took place last Saturday 11 July and saw more than 1800 women walk miles through the night in support of Rowcroft.
Karen Fountain from Paignton, who walked the five mile Sleep Walk route, said: “I signed up for my first Sleep Walk this year because it’s such a good cause; the hospice looked after my brother and they were absolutely brilliant, they can’t do enough for patients and their friends and family.
Claire Long from Newton Abbot added: “There’s a great atmosphere here, everybody’s got into the spirit of it and the route is not as hard as we thought it would be!”
Ladies were tasked with walking their choice of five or ten mile routes, both of which started and finished at Torbay Leisure Centre, passing some of the Bay’s most stunning scenery and landmarks.
Walker Annette White from Torquay added: “It’s been lovely walking along the beach tonight and there’s a great atmosphere with everybody here.”
2015 marks the fifth year in The Sleep Walk’s history, with the event continuing to grow in popularity year on year.
Daniel Robson, the hospice’s Events Co-ordinator, said: “Since The Sleep Walk began in 2010 it has raised an incredible amount to support our services and has now been a total sell out for two years running.
“We’ve been so excited to see so many people unite to support us and would like to say a huge thank you to all our walkers’ for their brilliant boot stompin’ and fundraising efforts.”
Those who took part in The Sleep Walk were supported by more than 170 volunteers who were responsible for the ladies’ safety, refreshments, and morale.
Daniel added: “The whole hospice would also like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers who spared their time to support the brilliant ladies who took part on Saturday night. It was amazing and truly humbling to see so many people come together to support the hospice.”
If you’d like to support the ladies, and volunteers, who took part in The Sleep Walk 2015 then it’s not too late to donate; simply text BABS15 £5 or BABS15 £10 to 70070 using your mobile.
The Sleep Walk will be back in 2016 and more information will be announced soon at www.rowcroftsleepwalk.org.uk.
If you’d like to keep up-to-date with Sleep Walk news you can also ‘like’ Barbara the Sheep’s page on Facebook.
