A FUNDRAISING walk that organisers hoped would raise at least £15,000 for a hospice has been called off.
The Starlight Walk was due to take place in Loughton on September 24 in aid of St Clare Hospice in Hastingwood, which provides care for terminally ill people and their families.
But Tracey Stratford, the hospice’s events fundraiser, said not enough people had signed up to make the event the success staff hoped it would be.
“We don’t want to disappoint people and for them to go away not having had a really fun evening,” she added. “We made the decision today.
“We felt we needed a certain number of people for it to go ahead and we’re not there.”
She said she was not sure how many people had signed up for the walk so far, but the figures were not approaching the 200-plus walkers she and other organisers had hoped to attract.
Marie Davies, the hospice's head of fundraising, added: “I think there’s an awful lot of these events going on.
“We’ve recently had a Midnight Walk in Harlow, which 1,200 people did, and a lot of other people are doing this kind of event.
“It may be that people have decided they have done one for this year and don’t want to do another one.
“We want to make sure people have a great evening and there’s a really good atmosphere and we don’t believe we have enough people for that to happen.
“People can transfer to Bishop’s Stortford or have a refund on their entry fee.”
More than 170 supporters took part in last year’s Starlight Walk, which raised more than £13,500 for St Clare.
The hospice must raise £5,000 a day in donations, as it only gets about a quarter of what it needs from public funding.
Everyone who has signed up for this year’s Starlight Walk will be given the chance to transfer for a similar five-mile walk being organised by the hospice in Bishop’s Stortford on September 16.
There will also be a chance to get involved in fundraising for St Clare by getting sponsored to wear yellow during national Hospice Care Week from October 8 to 14 and by signing up for the Inca Trail next year.
The Bishop’s Stortford Starlight Walk will start at the town's rugby club at 8pm on September 16.
To sign up for this and other events, visit www.stclarehospice.org.uk.
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