Darren Walton, 43, has shown how you can support a charity purely by doing something you love.
Papworth based Darren is a VW enthusiast and created the group ‘Cambs Transporters’ for other like-minded people six years ago. As the group evolved (it now has over 700 members) Darren organised a meet at Hunstanton, hence the ‘VW Run to the Hun’ was born. A chance for people to drive their beloved VW cars, vans and campers to the beach, compare notes and meet other people with a passion for the make.
The day was a great success and now takes place annually on the last Sunday of January. “We think it’s funny, I mean, who would want to go to a cold, wet beach in January?” Darren joked “It actually snowed on our first run! But it’s become a tradition”.
Now, people come from across the East of England, including the group Darren leads from Cambridgeshire in convoy to the coast. By the fourth year “there were hundreds of people turning up and I thought we should really make the most of it and do it all for a charity.”
Darren explains, “Road traffic collisions are one of the most common incidents Magpas Air Ambulance attend and with all of our members spending lots of time on the region’s roads, Magpas were the obvious charity to choose.”
Sunday 29th marked the 6th ‘Run to the Hun’ and over 500 people in VW’s made the journey to Hunstanton and supported Magpas Air Ambulance in the process. “We raised more money for Magpas this year than any other and hope this is a sign of good things to come.” Darren continues “I’m excited to see what will happen next year but already trying to work out how to get everyone parked!”
