The Mayor would like to invite you to support his charity walk and help raise funds for his chosen charities to assist them in carrying out the vital work they do within our community.

The 6.5mile walk will commence at Hertford Castle, continuing to Hertford Football Club, Hertford Hockey and Cricket Club at Balls Park, Isabel Hospice Shop in Maidenhead Street, then onto the Samaritans Ware Branch in Star Street and Hertford Netball Club at Presdales, Ware. The walk will finish at the Hertford Rugby Club.

Some further information about the Charities:

Herts and Essex (Ware) Samaritans - What we do:

" Every seven seconds, Samaritans answer a call for help. We are here, day or night, for anyone whos struggling to cope, who needs someone to listen without judgement or pressure. Samaritans is not only for the moment of crisis, were taking action to prevent the crisis. Herts and Essex (Ware) Samaritans are part of the national effort to reduce the number of people who die by suicide. In 2019, the last year for which we have figures, 5,691 people took their lives, 75% of them men. There was an overall increase of 11.8% on the previous year. Suicide is not inevitable; it is preventable, the causes of are complex, but we know it is both a gender and an inequality issue. Behind every statistic, we must never forget, is an individual with a family, and a community, devastated by their loss. At Ware we currently have 150 listening volunteers, who spent nearly 20,000 hours on duty last year. We took nearly 30,000 calls and answered nearly 6,000 messages. More than two in five of our callers spoke about suicide.

We stay connected to our local community and made some 28,000 contacts with people at events during over 8,000 hours of outreach".

https://www.samaritans.org/branches/ware/

Isabel Hospice, Welwyn Garden City - What we do:

"Isabel Hospice is a registered charity we provide free palliative care and support for patients and their families living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses such as MND, end stage renal conditions, end stage heart conditions, respiratory conditions or other neurological conditions, throughout eastern Hertfordshire. The population we serve is almost 388,413 people and last year cared for 1,855 people, but we know the need is great and there is so much more we could do. Care is based on the simple idea that patients are ordinary people living with physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. The Hospice provides enormous support to families and friends, caring for the patients and all those around them".

www.isabelhospice.org.uk