People in Monmouth are being urged to get walking this Sunday (25th March) and take part in the Specsavers Walk for Life, the Kidney Wales Foundation's biggest event of the year.

The Monmouth walk, sponsored by Specsavers on Monnow Street, is one of many taking place across Wales on the day to raise vital funds to support families affected by kidney disease.

The walk will start from the Co-operative car park at 2pm.

The funds raised will be used to pay for life-saving equipment and care for kidney patients, staff training at the Children's Kidney Centre, ground-breaking research into kidney disease and the promotion of organ donation.

The walks are organised by local people and attended by thousands of families and supporters across Wales, including celebrities and politicians.

This year's Walk for Life is being supporting by Welsh rugby international Leigh Halfpenny, who is an ambassador for the event alongside BBC One Show presenter Alex Jones, S4C presenter Sarra Elgan and ITV newsreader Andrea Byrne.

Leigh Halfpenny said: "I really enjoyed last year's Walk for Life with Kidney Wales.

"I was fortunate enough to meet some of the children who benefit from the charity's support at the Kidney Wales Children's Centre at the University Hospital of Wales.

'This event is so important to raise the funds needed to support these children and their families and all the kidney patients of all ages across Wales.

"It was a fun day out for everyone and there are so many Walks across Wales to choose from."

Peter Render, director at Specsavers Monmouth, said: "The Walk for Life is such an important event in bringing the local community together for a great cause and we're delighted to be a part of it as principal sponsor.

"We've had people within the community coming into the store to ask us how they can get involved in the event this year, while our staff have also been encouraging people to get their walking shoes on.

"We hope to see as many of them as possible taking part on 25th March to help us raise money for such a great cause."

The Kidney Wales Foundation aims to promote strategies and services to prevent and treat kidney disease, and to help deliver better quality and quantity of life for patients, families and carers.

The charity is also leading a campaign to change the organ donation system in Wales to an opt-out system and the Walk for Life will also be used to promote this message.

For more information pop into Specsavers on Monnow Street, call 029 2034 3940 or visit

kidneywales.com