Walking for charity combines fundraising and great exercise with a lot of people who share your concern for a cause. If you want ot sign up for a charity walk, keep these things in mind: Sign up for a walk as soon as you see it advertised. This lets the organization send volunteer materials to you before the date of the walk. In your walk packet, you will usually find a fundraising form to get other people to support your walk. Decide if you want to ask others. If you do, tell them how long the walk is and what it's for, then let them choose a donation amount. They may be willing to give you a dollar a mile or a lot more. This is a charitable donation for them, but it magnifies your effort a lot. Some people like to see how much they can raise; others feel shy about it. Either way, you are helping your charity.

Decide whether you want to be a walker or volunteer to help in another way. Most walks need volunteers to sign in walkers, stand along the route to give out water and watch for those who may need first aid. Your walk may need someone to help with gathering registration forms or cleaning up. There are a lot of ways to participate besides walking. If you decide to walk, get ready to do it well. Sneakers and socks are a must--you don't want to get sidelined by blisters. A water bottle, a small towel you can wet and a rain-jacket are good things to bring. Put your identification and money for an emergency in a fanny-pack or wallet that fits in a small backpack. Remember sun screen if it's going to be a blazing day.

To create your own charity walk, get permission from your charity first. There are regulations they need to follow, and they may also have special ways to do a walk for them. Check with your town or city to make sure you comply with their rules for a charity walk. You may have to set up a porta-potty if your event has more than a certain number of people. You may have to arrange first aid and police assistance with traffic. Get all this information as soon as you can, so that you will know what you and your volunteers have to do. Get printed material from your charity, or get approval for any printed matter like flyers or sign-up sheets. Charities are carefully regulated on how they raise and report money, and they need to approve any information you give out.