Jayne is one of our Fundraising Mentors, happy to help others in their fundraising goals.
She is a renowned walker for our charity. Committing every year to walk for puppy farm dogs and to promote positive messages around adopting dogs and changing lives.
When our virtual Schnauzerfest Walks The Globe challenge ran in 2020, Jayne put a post on social media floating the idea of others joining her using the Map My Walk app. The idea was to motivate each other, and boost the total miles walked for the challenge. A new group was created and is thriving today.
“Walking is what we do. It is what Schnauzerfest is about too. I find the group helps motivate me to do more, new and interesting walks so I can share them with the wider Schnauzerfest community. For all dogs and especially puppy farm rescues, walking is essential to their mental health. Doing things as like-minded groups, big or small, is fun and if we raise money and awareness along the way, that’s great.”
Today there are around 15-20 committed supporters taking part every month. There’s no set target, everyone walks the distance they can, without judgement and with a wonderfully supportive ethos. There are no prizes but there is the biggest pleasure in knowing that each step taken is for the thousands of unseen dogs in the breeding industry. Many taking part in the group are adopters of dogs, some of them ex-breeding dogs.
“I’ve been challenging myself with 1000 miles a year for the last few years as a personal target, donating £20 to Schnauzerfest for every 100 miles reached by my dogs and myself. Now we have this lovely group where there is constant support for each other it is like a big family. We are always there for each other.”
Some of the members regularly post in our Schnauzerfest Walks The Globe Facebook group, a place dedicated to celebrating being out and about, and supporting the charity’s ethos.
“This group gives me the motivation to walk a little further... not that it’s a competition; just a competition with myself to do more exercise. It’s great to see what other people walk - we are all quite varied in our miles and that depends on our abilities, our dogs’ abilities, and whether we remembered to turn the app on! It’s also been great to share our experiences with each other and ask questions within a smaller group. Larger groups can sometimes be overwhelming.”
This year Jayne is going even further with her fundraising. On top of the donation of £10 for every 100 miles that she walks, she will boose this with an additional £1 for every 100 miles the group achieves. January saw a staggering 926.50 miles.
“I joined the group in 2020, after working from home for 6 months I needed to get moving again! The group is so supportive and we all share our love for our Schnauzers, through pictures and anecdotes. I didn’t make my target in 2022, but everyone still cheered me on. We all support one another in the miles we’re. able to do.”
Would you like to join in?
If you’re inspired and would like to join Jayne’s Map My Walk group and walk for Schnauzerfest and rescue dogs this year, drop us an email here and we will put you in touch. The more the merrier is Jayne’s and our shared motto.
“I know others in the group raise funds by either giving monthly amounts or fundraising pages. I feel incredibly honoured to be part of such an amazing group.”
