The London Fundraising Group's Story

The London Volunteer Fundraising Group (LVFG) are a collective of individuals who have come together to organise their own fundraising initiatives to support Crisis. They have pooled their efforts and expertise to create “A walk to end homelessness” – a fundraising event in which participants walk from St Barnabas' church in East Ham through the streets of London, to Hyde Park, emulating the walk taken by the founders of Crisis back in 1967. 

This year the group organised their inaugural walk – testing the concept and understanding more about how to make it a success. A group of volunteers and willing walkers set off on October 5 in the beautiful sunshine to raise money and awareness, and without an explicit fundraising ask to the supporting walkers, managed to raise almost £4k! We hear a little from group members MJ and Michael about why they decided to volunteer with our fundraising group: 

MJ: "I began as a Crisis at Christmas volunteer. I signed up for my first shift one Christmas and it was not at all what I expected – the scale of the project overwhelmed me, but from the very first day I felt at home. I have met some of the best, kindest, most compassionate individuals who sacrifice their time to support this cause and I knew I was in it for the long ride. A fellow Crisis at Christmas volunteer introduced me to the idea of joining the fundraising group and whilst I didn’t initially see myself as a fundraiser I soon found myself enjoying pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I also was pleased to have an opportunity to support the cause I care about outside of the Christmas season." 

Michael: "I have been involved with Crisis in various capacities for a couple of years – I have been staff and volunteer. The LVFG was a great opportunity to put all of my experience with the organisation towards raising funds for Crisis. I love collaborating with likeminded individuals towards the common goal of ending homelessness."  

MJ: "The group meets monthly to discuss plans and actions, sometimes in person and sometimes online. Each person takes different responsibilities and works on them outside of the group until we meet next. It is challenging, but it is exciting because it is challenging! We get to shape our group and set the direction."  

Michael: "It can be challenging to do this role around a full-time job as I am limited by time, and there is always more that I want to be able to do. The benefit of being part of a close-knit team is that we can share the workload between us, each taking on more when we are able to and supporting each other." 

MJ: "With the success of the first walk, we are looking for more people to join our team and help us grow and progress! All you need is dedication, enthusiasm and commitment! Email molli.edwards@crisis.org.uk if you are interested."