THE WALK
A Celebration of Families and Volunteers
The Walk
The Friendship Circle Walk began in 2009 with a small dedicated committee, a handful of business partners and an idea to build a self-perpetuating annual community fundraising and awareness event.
Since then, the Friendship Circle Walk has become a popular event attracting over 1,500 people and raising around $200,000 per year to support programs for children with disabilities. Attendance and participation continue to grow, and even through COVID the community connected virtually to celebrate this day raising even more funds than before to support this local need.
The Friendship Circle Walk, besides being an integral event on the local Eastern Suburbs community calendar, forms an important part of Friendship Circle’s mission.
The Walk's Significance
- The Walk is a special time for the wider Friendship Circle community to celebrate and support our families and volunteers.
- New teen volunteers report that their first exposure to Friendship Circle was the amazing time they had joining the Walk! In this way, the event has a great awareness effect that helps us generate a steady stream of new volunteers.
- The Walk is a platform for families with children with disabilities to fundraise for the programs that they and other families rely on - thus building a user-support system for sustainability.
- The Walk is a vehicle for us to acknowledge our generous and kind supporters and in a small way return some of the goodwill that has been extended to us with branding and marketing opportunities.
This Year's Theme: Brighter Together
Imagine one little light bulb and how it can light up a small room. Now zoom out to a city so bright that it is visible from space. We each have a spark but together we dazzle!
This year, we celebrate our 15th Friendship Walk. That's 15 years of walking together, breaking barriers, advocating and raising awareness. If you've joined us at the Walk before, you know how impactful the day is. One purple t-shirt in Vaucluse and Watsons Bay might blend in. But hundreds of them? Unmissable! People stop, ask questions and learn about Friendship Circle.
'Brighter Together' isn't just a slogan. Each member of our community makes a difference, and together we create change. Check out our Stories for a glimpse into how we shine brighter together, and join us on 25 August for the ultimate celebration!
