Emily and Team Sole Mates host a 'Swishing Party' fundraiser!

Emily and Team Sole Mates on a 15 mile training walk

Team Sole Mates was formed following our friend’s diagnosis last July and will be taking part in the Full Moon and Half Moon MoonWalk in London to raise funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer.

As part of our fundraising, we organised a ‘Swishing Party’ which was a fun, social and environmentally friendly way to raise money. It was a great event and hopefully this will inspire other fundraisers to do the same!

Firstly, what is Swishing!? The concept is simple – bring along your unwanted good quality pre-loved clothes and swap for something new for you.

Once we had set a date and time for the event we contacted the local Parish Council who kindly agreed to us using their village hall free of charge (if you don’t ask you don’t get!).

We decided that the Swish would be limited to ladies clothing, shoes and accessories but it would work equally well with men’s or children’s clothes, school uniforms or books.

We made a poster and advertised the event on social media and with friends and family well in advance to give people plenty of notice to sort through their wardrobe and find items to swap. The more people that come, the better the choice of items so spread the word far and wide and keep reminding people!

Entry to the Swish was charged at £10 and as long as attendees brought along some items, they could take whatever they liked away. Swishing works so well for a charity event as people are generally more likely to part with their money if they are getting something in return.

We arranged the clothes on tables and rails in size order and provided seating for people to sit and chat. We also asked for donations towards refreshments. Generosity knows no bounds when cake is involved!

Not all the items brought to the Swish ended up finding a new home. We sorted left over clothes into those which could be sold on resale websites to raise more funds and donated the rest to charity shops and recycling banks.

We also held a separate fundraising raffle, which we drew before the event, with prizes donated by generous local businesses, friends and family.

In total we raised an amazing £1,600 for Walk the Walk! The event was a huge success with a happy, positive atmosphere created by knowing we were supporting the charity, raising breast cancer awareness, reducing landfill, decluttering our wardrobes and giving a good home some fabulous new (to us) outfits! Everyone wins!

If you have a fundraising event or activity planned, take a look at our extra bits and pieces to help you, and if we can help in any way, please do get in touch!

Raise money, Raise awareness, Get fit and Have the best fun Walking the Walk!