Welcome To The Jo Walters Trust

The Jo Walters Trust commemorates the life of Joanna Walters by giving grants to causes that she would approve of.

Mission Statement

In memory of Joanna Walters, and to celebrate her life and achievements as an inspirational person, teacher and motivator, the Jo Walters Trust provides opportunities to help people enrich their lives and the lives of others, through sport, outward bound, educational and environmental projects, both at home and abroad.

About the Jo Walters Trust

The trust is an approved Scottish Charity, regulated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. It has 7 appointed trustees.

The Jo Walters Trust has made a round of grants each year to organisations and individuals since it started in 2011, in line with our charitable aims: education, sport, outward bound and the environment. To read more about the grants we have made to date, please see our Grants page. We have also campaigned to improve the stretch of road in Brighton where Jo was killed to make it safer for cyclists. For more on this campaign please see our cycling news page.

If you would like to get involved in our work, take part in an event, or make a donation we'd love to hear from you. Please see our contribution page for details on how to contribute either time or money. If you're interetested in hearing more about our work you can have a read of our blog, or subscribe to our newsletter using the link on the right of our website and you'll be automatically added to our newsletter. We promise not to share your information with anyone else. We also have a great community on Facebook and a little on Google+, so do come along and join us there.

Alternatively, if you'd like to contact us by email with suggestions, feedback or comments, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at info@jowalterstrust.org.uk.

Boxing day to Hogmanayreduced

What is it?

Everyone loves the idea of a family Boxing Day walk, but the reality is often overtaken by turkey leftovers, the lure of the new presents and re-runs of The Snowman. Jo used to love a walk at this time of year, usually to help justify the number of mince pies (with lashings of brandy butter) she was consuming, but also for the joy of being out in the elements.

This year - when we’ve all spent too much time inside, when many of us have felt isolated, when the world is out of sorts and when there are so many people in need - join the Jo Walters Trust for a wholesome and mind-clearing seasonal walk. From Boxing Day to Hogmanay, we are challenging ourselves - and inviting everyone else - to join us for a fund-raising festive stroll.

Get involved

Once you've done your walk let us know how many miles you manage to cover - you can submit the total of all the miles walked by everyone in your group. You can submit as many walks as you like between the 26th and 31st December and give us the mileage for each. Donate (or get your friends to sponsor you!) for £1 per mile (or whatever you can afford).

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR WALKS ARE WITHIN THE GUIDELINES OF THE CURRENT COVID RULES WHERE YOU LIVE! There is no need for anything far from home or particularly gnarly - just a family walk is all we're looking for - ideally as near to your home as possible, whether that's around the local park or up a local hill, whatever is doable - no heroics please!

Donate

Options to donate include:

Jon our team on JustGiving and let your contributions all add up to the grand total - just click 'Join the team' here: https://www.justgiving.com/team/JWT
Simply make a donation: Donations can be made through our JustGving page here or Facebook here
Create your own FundRaiser for the Jo Walters Trust through Facebook

View the leaderboard below to see who is in the lead, and there will also be prizes** (and, obviously, eternal glory) for:

The person who walks (or runs, if you insist) the most miles;
The most funds raised;
The most rubbish collected en route (we are big fans of Plogolution - check here if you are new to plogging!)
The best answers to our scavenger hunt which we think might be a useful tool to help motivate any reluctant festive walkers
And, (most prestigious) the most mince pies consumed en route… (Photos welcome!)
If you have an idea for other categories, please let us know.

**Any offers of prizes very gratefully received - donors can also definitely suggest what their prize will reward

If you're on Facebook, please join us at our Facebook Event here too.

The Trustees of the JWT (nine of us) are going to try and walk the distance from Jo’s home in Alford, Aberdeenshire to Bristol, where she went to university. That’s 476 miles. Are we going to make it?! Watch this space or better still, set off on a walk and help us!