Calling on our supporters to join The 2.6 Challenge

The Royal Air Force Central Fund, like so many charities across the UK, has been impacted by the cancellation of mass participation fundraising events due to Covid-19.

In response, the organisers of the biggest sporting challenge events across the country have come together to create a new campaign to raise vital funds to help our fundraising and save the UK’s charities.

The campaign, The 2.6 Challenge, will launch on Sunday 26 April – what should have been the date of the 40^th edition of the London Marathon, the world’s biggest one day annual fundraising event, which raised £66.4 million for charities in 2019.

From Sunday 26 April, we are asking you to dream up an activity based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and fundraise by creating a 2.6 Challenge fundraising page on Just Giving or by visiting twopointsixchallenge.co.uk and typing in Royal Air Force Central Fund as your chosen charity. Alternatively, you can donate directly to our charity the same way or you can sponsor a member of the RAF Central Fund team who are leading from the front and taking on their own 2.6 Challenges (links can found below). The 2.6 Challenge is open to anyone of any age and we want you to have fun with it – the only requirement is that the activity must follow the Government guidelines on exercise and social distancing.

“As the RAF charity for sport and physical activities, The 2.6 Challenge fundraising initiative is particularly relevant to us during this challenging time,” says Ross Perriam, CEO of the Royal Air Force Central Fund. “Not only have we been continuing to support the RAF through our regular grant funding programmes, we have also been working on new initiatives to keep our beneficiaries fit and active at a time when RAF Sport has been put on hold and Station gyms are temporarily closed. We very much hope that those we have supported over the years will get behind this campaign and take up the opportunity to help the charity that has helped them so that we can continue in our mission to safeguard their health and wellbeing through sport and physical activity.”

“The 2.6 Challenge can be anything that works for you,” explains Nick Rusling, Co-Chair of the Mass Participation Sports Organisers group (MSO) and CEO of Human Race. “You can run or walk 2.6 miles, 2.6km or for 26 minutes. You could do the same in your home or garden, go up and down the stairs 26 times, juggle for 2.6 minutes, do a 26 minute exercise class or get 26 people on a video call and do a 26 minute workout – anything you like. We want people to get active, have fun and raise money to help Save the UK’s Charities by giving money or raising funds for the charity close to your heart.”

“For many of the UK’s charities, the day of the London Marathon is the biggest fundraising day of the year,” said Hugh Brasher, Co-Chair of MSO and Event Director of London Marathon Events. “One of the founding pillars of the London Marathon was ‘to show how the family of mankind can be united’. We hope that The 2.6 Challenge, which starts on the day our 40^th Race should have taken place, will embody that spirit and inspire people, families and communities to fundraise for their chosen charity to help Save the UK’s Charities. Right now, our vulnerable members of society need the help of charities more than ever before. We are asking everyone to create a 2.6 Challenge of their own and raise funds or pledge a donation.”

The RAF Central Fund’s Marketing and Communication Manager’s 2.6 Challenge: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/my-2-6-challenge-for-the-royal-air-force-central-fund2052

The RAF Central Fund Grants Team’s 2.6 Challenge: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/my-2-6-challenge-85bd1148-3859-4822-b286-893e16e3a19f

The RAF Central Fund’s Finance Manager’s 2.6 Challenge: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aynho-s-spider-man-challenge

For more information on The 2.6 Challenge, visit twopointsixchallenge.co.uk