Date published: 15 October 2015 by Anna Jackson

Family Support worker, Claire, is hosting a Sponsored Dog Walk to fundraise for her Big Hour Challenge. The Big Hour is a way for people to spend their extra hour when the clocks go back on October 25 to raise funds in support of seriously ill children and their families. It only costs £22 for our Family Support Workers to provide an hour of support to families who need us.

For more on Claire’s challenge, read below:

“It started when we were talking at a team meeting about the Big Hour and I was still very new to Rainbow Trust. Dawn Pond told me that she planned a walk and I said that I could do something like that in the New Forest where I live.

Personally I love fundraising and have always done lots for my local hospice, where I lost my daughter in 2002. Right at the end of her life I was very briefly helped by a Family Support Worker, called Pam. The one thing I couldn’t do as my daughter was at palliative stage and my husband was a shift working paramedic, was walk my dog and get my son out. Pam took them both out for me which was a massive help at the time. So it seems fitting that my first fundraiser should be a dog walk!

I have a beautiful collie called Molly who I love to walk with a variety of friends who have dogs. One of my new families that I support has a dog called Rufus who always wears a cute bandanna. I looked on the internet to see if I could buy rainbow themed bandanna’s - which I could - and it went from there.

I went up to the pub where we often walk from as it encompasses a walk that I have been doing for years across some open forest, through a stream and wood. I asked them if they would open early to serve coffee to the walkers on that Sunday which they were happy to do. The lovely mum that owns Rufus then offered to make the Rainbow Bandanna’s for me!

Dawn and I tried to get some pictures of dogs in the rainbow scarf but none of mine were very good so I sent her best one to the Rainbow Trust marketing team and now I have beautiful posters to display.

I messaged all my Facebook friends with the details, I have been telling the rest of my friends for weeks and it looks as if we should have a nice event. The pub are happy to serve lunch to anyone who would like to stay on after the walk – they are dog friendly, of course!

Claire’s New Forest Big Hour Dog Walk will be taking place at The Foresters Arms, Frogham SP6 2JA on 25 October, 10:30am.