Dorothy House Men’s Walk to Support 2024 raises £100,000!

Over 500 men descended on the Hospice on Saturday, 9 March to take on this year’s Dorothy House Men’s Walk to Support, almost doubling the turn out from last year!

Following a quick welcome speech featuring Dorothy House Ambassador, Alan Phillips and community supporter, Chris Eames, sharing their stories of their connection to Dorothy House, everyone was off and headed alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal, to Bath!

After a few stop-offs enroute, everyone made it to Bath Pavilion where they tucked into their free meal and drink and sat down to watch the day’s two Six Nations Rugby matches. Both during the walk and when sitting down to eat and watch the rugby together, it was clear to see important conversations happening between the men about their connections to the Hospice, their loved ones who had died, how they are getting on and the support they need.

This year featured a brand new addition, the Men’s Walk to Support Memory Wall. This allowed those taking part to write a message on a tag before the walk, carry it with them on route and then attach it to the wall when they arrived at the Pavilion. It was lovely to see so many memories and messages. The wall is now back at the Hospice where it will be displayed for a few weeks for everyone to see.

The day ended on such a high, with over 250 people staying to watch the England vs Ireland match play out. The incredible result was the cherry on top of the cake of an amazing day with such a huge cheers when England clinched the win in the final seconds.

A fundraising triumph!

Thanks to the amazing fundraising efforts by the men taking part in the event and from activity on the day, such as the raffle, this year’s Men’s Walk to Support has raised a staggering £100,000! The whole team here at the Hospice could not be more grateful for the support given. This money will go such a long way to supporting patients, families and carers right across our patch, both at the Hospice in Winsley and out in the community.

A huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteers too, without whom we could not have put on such a successful event. From route marshals to raffle ticket sellers, they made the day truly fantastic!

Why we host the Men’s Walk to Support

This event is an important date in the Hospice calendar and creates a space for men to come together to talk about their mental health and their experiences of grief and bereavement.

Dorothy House hosted a very special conversation at Bath Rugby’s Recreation Ground to help break the silence around men’s mental health, particularly when it comes to talking about grief and loss. To launch the 2024 Men’s Walk to Support, the Locker Room Chat features Bath Rugby player and Dorothy House Ambassador Tom Dunn, fellow Ambassador, Alan Phillips and his son Seb (a new Young Person’s Ambassador for Dorothy House), Bath Rugby player, Kieran Verden, and Chris Eames, a recipient of Dorothy House’s care.

In 2023, our Bereavement Support Team’s caseload was made up with only 28% men, and so this event is even more important than ever.

Thanks to feedback after the event, we know that over 50% of men felt supported to have conversations about their mental health and their experiences of grief and bereavement during the walk, a really powerful statistic that we are very proud of.

We also had a host of wonderful comments from those that took part:

“The day was fabulous, for a great cause. Congratulations to the organisers and the staff of Dorothy House.”

“I loved the walk and I’ll do it every year in honour of my wife who passed away in August 2023. Thank you for putting this together.”

“Extremely well organised, lovely route and great to watch the rugby afterwards in a large group which contributed to a fantastic atmosphere – well done to all the organisers.”

And on to 2025…

Thanks to the success and popularity of this year’s walk, we are pleased to announce that the Dorothy House Men’s Walk to Support 2025 will take place on Saturday, 8 March; a date for your diary. We can’t wait to see everyone again!