More than 500 people from the Hindu community at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Satsang Mandal, South London came together to participate in the BAPS 10K Charity Challenge on Sunday 8 June 2025.
The participants – from toddlers through to senior citizens – walked, jogged or ran 10 kilometres around Beddington Park in a fun-filled family and community event that raised vital funds for various good causes.
The annual Charity Challenge is a nationwide effort that brings together more than 3,000 enthusiastic participants at around 20 towns and cities across the country, offering a fun and healthy way to raise money for various local and national charities.
The funds will support BAPS’s multifarious educational, community, and spiritual activities in South London, which serve children, youths, families, and the elderly.
The 2025 Challenge will also support BAPS’s national charity partner, Children With Cancer UK, which is the country’s leading childhood cancer charity aiming to help every child and young person survive cancer by funding life-saving research and supporting patients and their families through treatment and beyond.
The participants also raised funds for Croydon Mencap, a local charity that supports parent carers of children and young people with any disability aged 0-25 and adults with a learning disability and their parents, carers and families. The funds will also support another local charity Croydon Nightwatch who are raising awareness and providing necessary supplies for the homeless people within Croydon and surrounding areas.
Previous national partners for BAPS and BAPS Charities have included Age UK, the Alzheimer’s Society, the Anthony Nolan Trust, Barnardo’s, Breast Cancer Care, the British Heart Foundation, Carers UK, Diabetes UK, KIDS, Macmillan Cancer Support, and the NSPCC. Locally, in South London, the Challenge has also helped St Raphael’s Hospice, Sutton Nightwatch, in recent years.
The day ended with fun games and activities for the whole family.
Minal Patel, one of the participants, shared, “I was inspired by our elderly walkers who walked tirelessly and with determination. They were amazing! The 10K challenge is a great way to encourage youth and children and teach them about Pramukh Swami Maharaj's motto ‘In the joy of others lies our own’.”
Katherine Wynne, CEO of Croydon Mencap, was present at the opening ceremony. In a short address before the walk began, Ms Wynne thanked BAPS for its continuing efforts in serving the wider community, saying, “when someone comes forward from our community and offers support to our charity, it’s so exciting.”
Kunal Patel, a leading volunteer at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, South London, added, “The annual Charity Challenge is inspired by His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, whose teachings on unity (samp), solidarity (suhradbhav), and oneness (ekta) continue to inspire us. With every step, we remember his guidance and pray to be become better individuals and positive influences in our mandal and community.”
Each walker and volunteer, young or old, draws inspiration from one another, their faces full of happiness – making it all worthwhile.”