TheSandwalk 2011 Report

It was my pleasure to be involved in the sixth annual Sandwalk this year where once again, many of you flocked to Balmedie to raise money for four fantastic charities while at the same time, taking in some of the great Aberdeenshire scenery.

We were blessed with glorious sunshine on the day which made the 5 mile walk from Newburgh to Balmedie even more enjoyable for the families, dog-walkers and fundraisers who joined us for the day. In all we were able to raise over £4,000 for four fantastic charities who provide support for a range of causes:

• CHAS
  provides the only hospice services in Scotland for children and young
  people with life-limiting conditions.
• CLAN
  provides support, information, education, complimentary therapies and
  other services to anyone affected directly or indirectly by Cancer in
  North-east Scotland, Orkney and Shetland.
• Erskine
  offers care and support for ex-service men and women and has helped over
  75,000 veterans over the past 92 years.
• Teen
  Challenge provides freedom from life controlling problems and addictions
  and is based at Sunnybrae in Aberdeenshire.

The Sandwalk once again was a great success for the Rotary clubs of Aberdeen Balgownie and Ellon who work hard to put the event together. It was a pleasure to work with a variety of people who join rotary as an opportunity to give their time,  experience and skills to things which can support those less fortunate than themselves and the Sandwalk is a great example of this.

As always, there are many people to thank for being instrumental for making the event such a success. Again, I would like to thank my fellow Rotarians in Aberdeen Balgownie and Ellon for their efforts to bring the event together. The experience and enthusiasm of Sarah, Duncan, Debra, Catherine and Gordon who represented CHAS, CLAN, Erskine and Teen Challenge on our committee really helped to raise the event to another level. As always, the support of those individuals and companies who took adverts in our brochure provided us with the opportunity to produce material to publicise the event which allows us to maximise both participation and the contributions to each charity, over and above the money raised by our walkers.

Finally I’d like to thank everyone who took part in the 2011 Sandwalk and I look forward to seeing you all again next year!

Stephen Fernie

Chair, Sandwalk 2011

The Sandwalk 2011 was a great success, see how it went here