Stephen Hawkins and Stephen Cochrane are celebrating 50 years of friendship in 2012. They met at school in Portsmouth when they were each 12 years old. To celebrate they are walking the 100 miles of the South Downs Way over the last week in July.

They also felt that this is a great opportunity to raise money for four charities that they personally would like to support.

They are also trying to encourage other people during this Olympic year to celebrate their own friendships whether it is 5 or 50 years. During this special year it would be particularly appropriate to celebrate friendships by organising not just a friendship walk but maybe a friendship run or cycle, or swim, or horseride, or sail - the options are vast. So celebrate your own friendship, get some exercise and raise money for your favourite charity at the same time.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now. You can give donations to one or two charities - or all four if you wish.