Teams of walkers hit the street across Banbury area raising nearly £20,000 for local charity

Over 10 days in September, more than 200 people from all across North Oxfordshire, South Northamptonshire and South Warwickshire walked to raise much-needed funds for Katherine House Hospice.

The Midnight Walk is one of the hospice’s major annual fundraisers, but because of the pandemic restrictions, this year the walk took on a new format and name: Midnight Walk Reimagined with walkers creating their own routes. So far, more than £18,000 has been raised thanks to all the incredible efforts and hard work that the hospice’s loyal supporters have made.

People have been coming together in teams to pound the highways in their local areas to remember loved ones and make the event a success. Some of the outstanding team efforts include the 12 members of the Barry White Fan Club, who walked in memory of their friend Ingrid. Together they have raised more than £10,000 via their JustGiving page - and they’re still counting.

The New Inn in Middleton Cheney put together a team of nine, who between them have so far raised more than £500 walking through the night dressed up in 80s disco gear, and a team of seven from Woodford Halse, calling themselves Odd Diversion, have raised £550.

Jo Chappell from team Odd Diversion said: “We started at 10.15pm on 11 September and walked through Woodford and up to Eydon. The moon was a beautiful orange crescent which lit the way along the country lanes. Once back in the village it became a bit tougher as the early hours took their toll, but we persevered and eventually finished at 2.15am on the Saturday morning as our phones announced we had reached our 10 mile target.”

Mary Sutcliffe and her team of merry walkers have so far raised in excess of £2,200 in memory of her husband David and friend Sue.

Mary said: “When David spent 10 days or so at the hospice for pain management, every single member of staff he encountered contributed to providing him with a safe, secure haven.

"It was like an oasis, a calm in the storm we felt we were experiencing. At the end of last year, a very dear friend, Sue, spent the last weeks of her life at Katharine House where she and her family were supported in a most special way. The difference it made was incalculable.”

There are a large number of smaller groups and individuals who have also been raising funds for the hospice.

Cherida Plumb, community and events fundraising manager, said: “When we started making our plans for the Midnight Walk Reimagined we had no idea how successful it would be, but we’ve been blown away by the loyalty and support of our community.

"We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone for the fantastic support that you have shown in taking part in this year’s Midnight Walk and for the huge effort made to raise sponsorship money to help people living with long-term illnesses in our community. No matter how large or small your donations, every single penny counts and every single penny helps make every moment matter for those people we support and care for.”

For this year’s walk, Katharine House used a new digital fundraising platform. With interactive leaderboards, the fundraisers could see how far others were walking and how much money was being raised. At the time of going to print, the head of the leaderboard, Michelle Kirkby, had walked more than 33 miles during the 10 day period and, between them, the top ten fundraisers had already raised over £6,000.

Cherida added: “All the fundraising efforts of our walkers have been amazing and, as a bonus, we can claim back 25p for every £1 raised in valuable Gift Aid contributions, from donations made by taxpayers, which come straight from the UK tax office. So we’ll see the fundraising total increasing over the next few weeks thanks to sponsors ticking the Gift Aid box on fundraising platforms and paper sponsorship forms.”

Katharine House were delighted to have sponsors Bloxham Mill take part in the challenge.

Emma McGregor of Bloxham Mill said: “We loved having an excuse to get out and enjoy the evening sunshine in Bloxham, and thank you to all those who waved at us in our KHH T-shirts.”

Katharine House was also proudly sponsored by local business community group, Banbury Chamber of Commerce.

It’s not too late to do your own walk and raise money for Katharine House or you may wish to donate directly to the hospice. To find out more, visit their website www.khh.org.uk.