Walking with Purpose: Employee Fundraising at the Pink Ribbon Walk

At the heart of every successful organisation is a team that cares—not just about their work, but about making a meaningful difference beyond the office walls. Recently, our own Katherine Van Eyken took part in the Pink Ribbon Walk at Hampton Court Palace, joining nearly 1,000 walkers in support of Breast Cancer Now. This inspiring event brought family, friends, and community members together for a shared mission: raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research and support.

Katherine shares her experience, the motivation behind the walk, and how you too can get involved to support Breast Cancer Now. Whether you’re considering joining a similar event or looking for ways to contribute, her story is a compelling invitation to make a difference—one step at a time.

Pink Ribbon Walk,

Written by Katherine Van Eyken

We gathered early in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. There was about 1000 of us completing the walk and the weather had decided to be kind to us.

It was an emotional start with a speaker whose words clearly resonated on a deep level with many of the walkers.

This was a reminder of the work that Breast Cancer Now does in terms of research and support.

I was walking with 2 friends who have had very personal experiences dealing with the effects of breast cancer and 1 friend who has been going through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment herself recently so this did hit home.

We had friends running the marathon this weekend, so walking 10 miles seemed a bit fraudulent!

However, hearing these stories and knowing the impact that this type of support and research could have was very validating.

We were then treated to a Mr Motivator type warm up to limber us up for the next few hours!

And then off we went.

4 hours of walking along the Thames Path and back through the Palace grounds. This was a truly beautiful route over Kingston Bridge, up to Ham and over Teddington Lock and back down to Hampton Wick.

Conversation was contemplative and then lively and upbeat.

There is one rule – No running!

Achy legs and a few blisters later we approached the finish line and the impressive ribbon “wall” where walkers have an opportunity to add their own message for loved ones, past and present.

Through the finish and we were rewarded by the amazing sounds of South London Samba - another 10 miles anyone?!

For anyone contemplating a similar event. Please do it. You will be doing something positive and will enjoy it, I promise.

I was honoured to walk with my friend and help such a worthy cause.

Thank you to all, including Ward Williams, for the invaluable support.

If you would like to support Breast Cancer now and Kath’s fundraising efforts contributions welcome to Katherine Van Eyken Justgiving page