More than 90 people from the BAPS Hindu community in Milton Keynes 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 North Caldecotte Lake 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 Milton Keynes 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 a local Diabetes UK group that aims to support, assist, educate and inform people living with or affected by diabetes in the local area.
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 Buckinghamshire, the Challenge has helped the Ride High (MK), the Air Ambulance, Willen Hospice, Help the Aged (MK), Breast Cancer Care Unit Milton Keynes Hospital and Milton Keynes Hospital Charity in recent years.
The day ended with fun games and activities for the whole family.
Cllr. James Lancaster, the Mayor of Milton Keynes, who was also present at the opening ceremony, remarked, “We can build a community that thrives on the principles of unity, empathy, and service. This is clearly evident at the BAPS Swaminarayan Centre [in Milton Keynes] for its true commitment to community values.” Cllr. James Lancaster further commented, “I honour what a crucial part local diverse groups play in community cohesion and building, especially in a city experiencing the fastest growth rate in the UK.”
Julie Pope, a leading volunteer from the Milton Keynes group, Diabetes UK, also said, “A great pleasure to be attending the BAPS Charities Annual 10K Challenge on a wonderful Sunday morning. Today, the funds raised by BAPS in MK will provide a boost to our local diabetes group.”
Kaushik Patel, one of the participants, shared, “It’s wonderful to participate in this annual sponsored charity walk in aid of the national charity Children with Cancer, together with Diabetes UK, a local group in MK. It feels good, giving back to the local community vital funds and to support issues that affect all of us”.