As the charity embarks on its milestone year, ceo Bryan Clover reflected: “This year will be The Rainy Day Trust’s 180th Anniversary; something to be immensely proud of. Looking back at my mere seven and a bit years with the charity a lot has changed in that short time, so when you consider what has changed since 1843, it is an immensely different organisation now, helping thousands of people.
“Without a doubt 2023 is going to be huge challenge for so many reasons, not least of which is how many more marbles Mr Putin will lose, and how that will impact on the UK’s economy, your businesses and by definition, your colleagues. I think I can safely say that the mega-high application rate of 2022 will be maintained and could even accelerate further. As always though, we want to prevent problems rather than face cataclysmic issues further down the line, so please encourage staff to get in touch early if they need help. Prevention is always better than cure.
“More people coming to us for help will place our finances under increasing strain so to mark our anniversary we are aiming to place ‘180’ at the centre of our fundraising activities; more of which another time.”
Bryan went on to outline some of his fundraising activities for the year: “For the moment though in the spring I will be embarking on another batch of hikes, this time 6 x 30-mile half-ultras, a mix of organised events with Action Challenge and ‘home-made’ routes; basically one every two weeks.
“These hikes will be against the clock over some tough terrain of the Cotswolds and the Jurassic Coast for example. The aim is to complete each in comfortably under 12 hours. We are looking for sponsors for each of the six routes and we are looking for ONE sponsor for the whole lot. Your brand will be front and centre and in front of 6,000 hikers each time, plus all the social media activity before, during and after.
“So, if you’d like to take the lead on the 180-miler hike, or sponsor one particular route, please let me know. The fundraising page will be up and running shortly.”
