More than 150 people from the Hindu community at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Crawley 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 Hazelwick school football field 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 Crawley, 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 Chestnut Tree House (Children’s Hospice Care) that provides hospice care to children and young people in Sussex and South East Hampshire.
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 Crawley, the Challenge has helped the Olive Tree Cancer Support and Crawley Open House in recent years.
The day ended with fun games and activities for the whole family.