After pushing Australians to their limits for 25 years and raising more than $100 million to help eliminate poverty, Oxfam Australia will be celebrating its final Trailwalker event in Melbourne next March.
Since its launch in 1999, around 100,000 Australians in various capital cities have tackled the ultimate endurance challenge, which sees small teams walk 100km, 50km or 30km through some of Australia’s most picturesque landscapes to raise funds to support Oxfam’s lifesaving work.
Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Lyn Morgain said significant efforts had been made to adapt the event in ways that may boost its impact, but ultimately, a number of factors had coalesced and led to the decision to wind up the groundbreaking fundraising event.
“Since the pandemic, we’ve seen the number of community fundraising events increase as consumer interest has reduced. We’ve also seen lower fundraising due to the cost-of-living crisis. This has resulted in the difficult decision to wrap up our beloved Trailwalker,” she said.
“Hundreds of staff members, thousands of volunteers and around 100,000 brave participants have made this event a significant part of Oxfam’s DNA for a quarter of a century. We will honour the contribution of so many with a final extra special farewell event in Melbourne in March.
“We encourage anybody who has ever thought of joining this challenge, to bite the bullet and sign up as a participant or volunteer for the Melbourne 2024 event – the experience of a lifetime.”
