This award emphasizes the efforts made by organizations to gain registrations and membership for their philanthropic needs, utilizing the Internet. Our finalist, Gulu Walk, best demonstrated their use of the Internet to build relationships, community and outreach.
In 2005, Adrian Bradbury and Kieran Hayward heard the unbelievable stories of the “night commuters” –the some 40,000 vulnerable Ugandan children who would leave their homes on a nightly basis and walk into the town of Gulu in an attempt to avoid abduction and abuse by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). The difficulties these children face each day sparked the idea of Gulu Walk, a 31 day, night commute to support the children of Uganda. Every evening in July of 2005, Adrian and Kieran walked 12.5 kilometers into downtown Toronto and slept in front of City Hall. When the sun rose, after about 4 hours of sleep they would walk home. Over the 31 days they walked 775 kilometers in 159 hours, 18 minutes and took 872,739 steps. They began to blog about their efforts in order to tell their story and attract attention to the children of northern Uganda. With the use of the Internet, Gulu Walk Day was coordinated for Saturday, October 21, 2006, when over 30,000 people, in 82 cities, in 15 countries were mobilized to walk and urge the world to take notice and support peace in northern Uganda. The event raised over $500,000 for grassroots programs to support a generation of children who are forced to fight for their lives every day.