More and more people are choosing to go on ‘meaningful’ holidays abroad, as they seek to fulfil altruistic ambitions and do their bit to help save the world. Whether it’s an expedition to Mount Everest, a trek along the Great Wall of China or a hands-on mission to build homes for underprivileged families in Vietnam or elsewhere in the world, there is a definite heightened sense of urgency in terms of people actively seeking new ways to help others.

But as noble and selfless as this may be, it’s simply not possible for many people to get involved in such activities, as they generally require a lot of time and money to help achieve them. However, the good news is there are many other ways, a lot closer to home, that can help those who are in a less fortunate position than us.

Perhaps one of the more common means of raising money for charity, is to run a marathon. Nobody will begrudge making a donation when someone is putting themselves through months of arduous training to run over 26 miles without so much as a ten-minute breather. And there is no doubt that every penny raised will be well and truly earned.

Of course, not everybody can partake in such physically demanding exploits or dedicate the amount of time required to train for such a feat. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way; everyone can do their bit for charity and it doesn’t need to be painful.

A sponsored walk is the perfect answer for those who are looking to raise money for charity but don’t have the time to commit to more demanding activities. Not only that, the participant can usually choose between various walking-distances, to suit their physical ability.

A 3-mile walk for one person may be more than enough, whilst for someone else it might not be quite the challenge they were looking for and so may opt for anything up to 10 miles. In fact, it’s becoming more and more common for even longer charity walks to be organised, up to and including a marathon, for those looking to push themselves that little bit further for their chosen cause.

Besides the obvious incentive of raising much needed money for a very worthy cause, the feel-good factor extends well beyond that. Registering for a charity walk has prompted many people into improving their fitness, losing weight or even act as a mechanism for a longer term goal such as quitting smoking. Ultimately, however, the feeling of satisfaction after completing a charity walk is enough of an encouragement for most people.

So, with people going further afield to quench their desire to help others, it can perhaps be easy to forget that charity begins at home. Taking part in a sponsored walk is a fun way of achieving many goals at the same time and giving just a little bit can reap far greater rewards in return.