More than 90 people from the Hindu community at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Preston came together to participate in the BAPS 10K Charity Challenge on Sunday 8 June 2025.
The participants – from toddlers through to senior citizens – walked 10 kilometres around Avenham Park and the Guild Wheel 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 Lancashire, which serve children, youths, families, and the elderly in Preston and the surrounding areas.
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 Disability Equality North West, a local charity that supports disabled people in the North West by offering a range of services focused on promoting human rights, self-determination, and independent living. They provide advice, information, client liaison, hate crime reporting, managed accounts, peer support, and events/training.
Matthew Dunn, a volunteer at Disability Equality North West, took part in the walk and said, “The funds raised will support the charity to support disabled members of community lead more independent lives”.
Hetal Patel, a leading volunteer at the BAPS Hindu temple in Preston, added, “The annual Charity Challenge is inspired by His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, who teaches us to serve everyone in the community, regardless of faith or background, as a part of our moral and spiritual duty. We are grateful for this opportunity to come together – young and old – to support one another and make our town a better place to live, work, and thrive.”