Eager dog walkers needed for St. Mungo's charity walk

We've received the following message from the lovely folks at St. Mungo's. Although they're not an animal charity, they are seeking dog walkers for their latest fundraising drive and asked us if we could help spread the word. Only too happy to do so! And in case you're wondering what Dogs Trust has to do with homelessness, do read more about our Hope Project.

The release is as follows:

Put on your walking shoes, switch off the World Cup coverage and hit the streets with your canine companion on Sunday 20 June to help St Mungo's support homeless people on their journey back into work.

To kick start its Action Week (20-27 June), St Mungo's is asking people to step up and take part in a five mile Action Week Walk.

The theme of this year's Action Week is Just the Job - supporting homeless people's journey back to work.

This is the charity's third annual sponsored walk but the first time it will head into the City of London. The walk starts and finishes at St John's Church in Waterloo, where St Mungo's homeless volunteers help tend the church gardens. The route then links in with other areas where St Mungo's provides homelessness services in Southwark, Lambeth and Westminster.

Last year more than 160 people joined in our Action Week Walk to support our campaign to improve the mental health of homeless people. Not only did we raise £15,000, but we also made the Government take action by including homeless people in their new strategy for improving mental health services to people in the UK.

This year the charity is hoping for 300 people to sign up and boost funds for its Pathways to Employment programme which supports activities, education, training and work opportunities for St Mungo's hostel residents.

Tanya English, Executive Director for Fundraising and Communications, said:

"Only 4% of our residents are currently working. Some of our clients have not worked in a decade, and others not at all.

"The money raised by generous supporters and donors on this year's walk will go towards supporting St Mungo's clients on their journey of recovery and into work. By taking part in this Action Week Walk, you are actively helping someone to walk away from their old life and towards a new one.

"It's also Father's Day so perhaps an opportunity to get dad away from the World Cup for a while to do something active in a worthy cause!"

How you can show your support for Action Week:

• Sign up for the St Mungo's 2010 Action Week Walk. Registration is £12 in advance or £15 on the day, under 16s (and dogs!) walk for free. A free T-shirt is provided, as well as a lunch pack when you finish, kindly donated by Pret a Manger

• Sponsor St Mungo's resident Jamie and his dog to do the walk

• Show your support by shopping at the St Mungo's online gift shop

• Find out more about St Mungo's Just the Job Action Week 2010, other events and ways to show your support.

Nine-year-old supporter raises over £600 through sponsored events!

After writing about the lovely Eadidh and her incredible efforts to cycle across Scotland for us, I got a lot of comments about how brilliant it was to see a younger supporter doing so much for their chosen cause. One email I received was from a lady who was bursting with justifiable pride over her son's achievements for Dogs Trust. This is what she had to say:

Oscar Fenton, age 9 [pictured above in checked shirt and below centre], who lives in Burgess Hill, loves dogs and wanted to do something to help dogs who are unwanted or lost. Oscar has 3 dogs of his own and so has grown up with them in his family and knows how important it is for dogs to be looked after and cared for properly. So Oscar decided to try and raise some money for the Dogs Trust and with the help of his Grandma he organised a coffee morning!

Lots of people donated cakes and there was a raffle and it was all held in his Grandma's garden last spring. He then organised a sponsored dog walk - ringing his friends to join in and putting up posters. The 2 events raised an astonishing £624.04 which he handed over to Dogs Trust in Shoreham.

What a result for a young lad!

I totally agree: well done Oscar. It was a super effort that garnered great results!

If you are interested in fundraising for Dogs Trust but aren't sure where to start, check out the ideas on our Giving pages or contact our community fundraising team.

If you have a great story to tell about your efforts, why not share it in the comments below?

Waggy Walks - the events, the walkers, the photos!

Many, many, many thanks to everyone who came to a Waggy Walks event yesterday.

The London event that I attended was a roaring success, with over 200 walkers ready to stroll 3 or 6 miles on a beautiful, crisp autumn day. The main walk set out at 11am with a few latecomers setting off a little later to do their laps.

We were really impressed at how well behaved the canine and human walkers alike were. Although we were handing out poo bags, most were set and ready to go, and there were lots of beautiful demonstrations of walking to heel and sitting patiently despite the sizeable group of dogs.

Our donation buckets started filling up during registration, and a few walkers bought some of the Dogs Trust goods on sale such as collapsible drinking bowls, magnets and little fluffy toy dogs that were particularly popular.

I hear all the other events across the UK were just as busy and fun. Your sponsorship, donations and general support are much appreciated. What was particularly exciting for us in the digital team was how many people were tweeting their events using the #WaggyWalk hashtag - you can see what everyone was saying at the time in this Twitter search.

Here are some photos from London: http://bit.ly/waggywalkslondon (Spot me holding my hat's ears and some of my husband dutifully dressed as a dog as we'd promised our sponsors!)

Other walkers have posted photos across Facebook - see links to their albums here www.facebook.com/dogstrust

Please do add links to your own collections on photos in the comments!

Will you go walkies with Dogs Trust?

It's time to strap on the trainers and shake out your legs, but don't worry if, like me, the thought of running even 5km makes your muscles wobble and tears leak out of your eyes... Dogs Trust has come up with a fundraising event that gets everyone moving outdoors, but that doesn't require much time on the treadmill.

Waggy Walks will be taking place in October in ten locations across the UK. You don't even need a dog to take part! You just have to get creative.

You can dress up as a dog or bring along a toy dog if you don't have one of your own. Jacqui and I will be at the London Finsbury Park event and being cat owners are debating if we can convince our partners to walk on a collar and lead with us...! You can decide on the day whether you're up for the longer six-mile walk or shorter three-mile option. Find out more by visiting the Waggy Walks website.

The locations are: Bath, Belfast, Brighton, Cardiff, Coventry, Darlington, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and London.

If you're not able to come along to an event you can still take part and help Dogs Trust raise vital funds to care for thousands of dogs every year. You can sponsor the Mascot Dog, who still doesn't have a name. This three-legged wonder is an active fellow who'll be taking on the six-mile challenge in London with us. There is still time to contribute your ideas for his new title and we'll be very grateful for any pennies you can send his way,too.

Name That Dog! Waggy Walks mascot needs a name...

Who am I?

Meet ????.

Hi I’m the mascot dog for the 2009 Waggy Walks and I need name, can you help?

All we need you to do is email me with the name you think suits me.

I only have three legs but that won’t stop me from doing the six mile walk on Ocober 18th. I’m really looking forward to it, who wouldn’t be with the chance to meet some new doggy friends!

It's the dogs I’m doing it for – my friends at Dogs Trust who are still without a home.

I will be walking at the London Event in Finsbury Park along with many Dogs Trust staff and dogs and other walkers so I hope to see you all there.

If you are unable to take part in one of the ten walks around the country then please sponsor me. Every little helps Dogs Trust care for the 16,000 dogs or more that pass through their doors every year.

Head on over to my Just Giving page and sponsor me today