Walk the Walk - Make Every Step Count!

Walk the Walk raises money for breast cancer research and support by organising the iconic MoonWalks. Thousands of women and men walk a marathon or half marathon through the streets of London, Edinburgh and Iceland at night whilst wearing decorated bras to raise awareness. Money is then granted to organisations in order to improve the lives of people with breast and other cancers, both now and for generations to come. To date, Walk the Walk has become one of the most successful grant-making breast cancer charities in the UK, raising in excess of £137 million.                                                                                                                 

Walk the Walk – How is money raised?

Walk the Walk specialises in all things walking – organising many different challenges and events from family 10k distances, to 100 mile treks, as well as promoting the now proven benefits of walking for health and well-being.

• LIVE MoonWalks are held in London, Scotland and Iceland
• Walk the Walk has also developed an extensive range of ‘Virtual’ walking challenges
• Walk the Walk organises The Arctic Challenge – a 26.2-mile backcountry skiing marathon in the
Swedish sub-arctic
• The charity organises treks such as the Inca Trail in Peru and the Camino Challenges. The charity’s supporters also take part in marathons across the globe, including the New York City Marathon
• Almost half a million women, men and children have completed Walk the Walk challenges.

Walk the Walk: Where does the money go?

The charity has three key aims; to grant funds for research, particularly secondary breast cancer, to help provide emotional and physical support for those living with cancer, and prevention. Science has now shown that lifestyle and being active are key contributors to preventing not only breast cancer, but all diseases. During the pandemic, Walk the Walk has made grants to:

• Action Cancer for their new ‘Big Bus’. Walk the Walk is the Principal Funder of the bus, which offers breast screening for women in Northern Ireland aged 40-49 and 70 plus that are
outside the NHS screening program
• Penny Brohn UK in Bristol for online cancer support services
• Cancer Support Scotland, funding hundreds of online counselling appointments and wellbeing calls
• FACT (Facing All Cancers Together) supporting vulnerable people with cancer in the North East of England
• Lewis-Manning Hospice Care for their Mobile Lymphoedema Clinic, treating cancer patients in Dorset who were unable to reach hospital

Previous grants include:

• Breast Cancer Now Walk the Walk Fellow Dr.Damir Varešlija, is in the second year of a five-year study researching how
breast cancer spreads to the brain. Funding for previous ground-breaking research includes the LEGACY Study, The Breast Cancer Now Tissue Bank and the Generations Study 
• Tenovus, for providing cancer support, chemotherapy and lymphatic drainage on mobile vehicles, which travel to rural communities in Wales 
• Maggie’s Cancer Centres in Scotland (Glasgow, Larbert and Airdrie), providing support to people diagnosed with all types of cancer and their families
• The Breast Cancer Institute in Edinburgh for several major projects - renovating the breast ward and Mammography Unit, as well as building a new operating theatre
• Scalp Coolers Walk the Walk has its own project granting funds to NHS hospitals and Trusts across the UK, in order for them to purchase scalp cooling equipment, which helps cancer patients to keep their hair whilst undergoing treatment.