Round Table Area 25 and Ladies' Circle Area 13 First Annual Sponsored Walk for Charity

The Thames Valley areas of Round Table and Ladies' Circle are jointly organising and promoting a sponsored walk for charity along the Thames Path on Sunday, 27th June, 1999. It is expected that this will become an annual event and will be part of both organisations' area calendars. In this first year and only in this year, the sponsorship money will be split three ways, 15% will be donated to the NALC incoming National President PLC fund. This money will be used to raise the profile of the two organisations and to help to raise further money for charity. The rest will be split evenly between the two charities: The Sickle Cell trust and The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust (these are the charities chosen by the incoming NALC President Sharon Harriott-Kerr. In future years the chosen charities will be subject to change in accordance with the wishes of the organisers and the joint areas, one chosen by Round Table and the other by Ladies' Circle.

There are four starting points all ending at the Rivermead Complex in Reading:

1. Suttons Business Park approx. 2 miles;
2. Sonning approx. 4 miles;
3. Henley-on-Thames approx. 10 miles;
4. Marlow-on-Thames approx. 18.5 miles.

• No children under the age of 16 will be allowed to take part unless accompanied by an adult.
  
• No adults will be permitted to start from the Suttons Business Park location unless they are accompanied by a child.

Car parking facilities at the Rivermead are being arranged and busses will be available to transport the walkers to their appropriate starting points. All walkers will need to come to the Rivermead first so that their entry forms can be validated.

The route from Marlow to Reading is relatively easy to follow and maps will be made available to each walker when they register at the Rivermead in the morning. Please ensure that you wear stout walking shoes or boots. The amount of road walking has been kept to a minimum but cannot be entirely eliminated, therefore, please take care when walking on roads and follow the Highway Code.

To ensure reasonable finishing times, please ensure that if you are planning to walk the full length you turn up early enough in the morning to arrive in Reading during the afternoon. Registration at the Rivermead will open at 8 a.m. and the busses will leave as soon as enough people are ready and no entrants for the Marlow start will be accepted after 10:30 a.m. Registration for all starts will close at 12:00 noon.

At the Rivermead complex there will be various facilities to welcome weary walkers when they finally arrive as well as a range of attractions for the children. Close by this location there are many pubs and restaurants for those in need of other refreshments.

A small administration fee of £5 per adult, children free, will be charged to cover the inevitable costs of organising a day such as this and any extra amount collected will be transferred into the charity funds.

Sponsorship forms will be sent to all those who contact the organisers at the address and telephone numbers below.

Please support this event and help us make it a great success for Round Table and Ladies' Circle as well as for the charities mentioned.