No, fundraising is not required to participate in the Walk! Our main goals in walking are to show solidarity with refugees and raise awareness while doing so. Raising awareness may look like educating ourselves or our communities, sharing with others what you learn about refugees, or raising funds for our local organizations that support refugees. You can do any or all of that!

If you do choose to fundraise, we suggest supporting your local organizations that assist refugees to make the most local impact. If you don't know any organizations near you but would still like to donate or raise funds, we provided a list of trusted organizations in the toolkit that you can consider. There isn’t a minimum fundraising requirement; just go with what you think is achievable!

We included some tips in the toolkit that you received, but here are some more ideas to think about as you get started:

• If you know of a local organization that works with refugees, their website likely has a way to give directly or you can reach out. Or you can give to one of the trusted national partners listed in the toolkit.  

• You can donate on your own, or you can invite your community to donate as well. We provided a template for you to share on social media that will let your friends and family know about the Walk. You can modify the caption to give your personal reason for walking in solidarity. Sharing your own reason why can be powerful!

• We recommend asking your community to donate directly to the organization and let you know how much and when they donated. This is safer than you collecting the money and donating it all at once.

• If you're inviting your community to join in fundraising, set a goal. Make it achievable, but don't be afraid to set it a little higher. You know your community best and what might be financially possible.

Ideas for fundraising:

• Ask your community to pledge an amount per mile you walk — for example, ask your friends to donate $2 for every mile you walk. If your goal is 30 miles (one for every day in June), that means they would contribute $60. It also helps keep you accountable and motivated to reach your walking goal!

• If you have kids in your life, consider getting them involved by doing a bake sale or making bracelets to sell to add to your donation. 

• Consider asking colleagues, friends at church, and family to help reach your goal—it’s a great way to get others involved!

We’d love to stay in touch along the journey with you! You can update us by tagging us @WeChooseWelcome in your social media posts on Instagram and Facebook. If you also use the hashtag #walkinsolidarity2025, everyone participating in the Walk will be able to follow along with each other.

At the end of the month we’ll send you a survey with questions about your Walk and would love to hear from you. There will be space for you to share your successes, stories from the journey, and what you learned along the way.

In the toolkit, we provided some different suggestions for podcasts and audiobooks to listen to while walking. Some of them focus on telling the stories of refugees, while others focus on policy and the logistics of immigration. It's up to you what you choose to listen to! We'll also be providing educational content about refugees on our social media pages for the month of June. Follow along @WeChooseWelcome or #walkinsolidarity2025.