Walkthons, an excellent tool of CSR

Yesterday, I was reading an article on the sunday newspaper about the walkathons organized for 2nd year by Ecco, a well known athletic brand. Ecco has introduced this set of events that take place in several cities of Denmark, Germany and Poland, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Program. Last years events raised more than 400.000€ which have been donated to the organizations chosen by the participants themselves!
But its not the first time an event of this type is organized. The first known walkathon was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1953 by the famous comedian Ramón Rivero, who walked 80 miles to raise money for the Puerto Rican League Against Cancer.

Since then, several CSR focused businesses encourage community members to voluntarily get involved with a walk event of a predetermined distance. The main cause varies from fund raising ( registration fees / donations / corporate sponsorships) to public awareness of the subject the organisation wishes to communicate.

Walkthons are excellent tool in the kit of public relations specialists as it mobilizes broad based community support, with participants from a wide range of ages and economic backgrounds.

Nowadays, hundreds of walkathons are organised all over the world, including Puerato Rican League Against Cancer, Walk and Rock, Arthritis Walk, Breast Cancer 3Day, Memory Walk by Alzheimer’s Association, PetWalk by Petsmart Charities and Out of the Darkness Community Walks by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.