Charities and good causes are set to receive a much-needed financial boost next week with Giving Tuesday.

The event, which takes place on December 3, is described as part of “a movement to create an international day of charitable giving at the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season”.

And it provides the perfect reason to sign up for or make a commitment to take part in one or more of the KM Charity Team’s fundraising challenge events.

The challenge events include the Medway, Canterbury, Ashford and Maidstone heats of the KM Big Charity Quiz, the spring abseil, the KM Big Bike Ride, the KM Colour Run and Buster’s Charity Firewalk.

With the abseils, bike ride, colour run and firewalk, 70% of all the money generated goes to charities and good causes nominated by participants.

The beneficiary organisations of the quizzes are the good causes chosen as charities of the year by the editors of the KM Media Group newspapers, Kent Online, kmfm and KMTV. They will share 25% of the revenue.

In 2020 the charities of the year are:

• Kentish and Folkestone & Hythe Expresses: Kent Association for the Blind

• Kentish Gazette, Kent Online, kmfm and KMTV: The Aspinall Foundation

• East Kent Mercury: Martha Trust

• Dartford and Gravesend Messengers: YMCA Thames Gateway

• Kent Messenger: Friends of Five Acre Wood School

• Medway Messenger: Abigail’s Footsteps

• Sheerness Times Guardian and Sittingbourne News Extra: Citizens Advice Swale

• Thanet Extra: Age UK Thanet.

KM Charity Team acting general manager Karen Brinkman said: “Giving Tuesday is such a lovely concept, and it would be fantastic if people could mark it by committing to take on some of our fun and family-friendly challenge events.

“Over the years, these events have raised thousands of pounds for so many really superb charities and good causes doing invaluable work in the local community and beyond.”

The first KM Charity Team fundraising challenge event of 2020 is the Medway heat of the KM Big Charity Quiz on March 6, followed by the spring abseil on March 21.

The following month, the Canterbury heat of the big quiz takes place on April 17 and the KM Big Bike Ride is on April 26.

Special discounts are available for all the challenges when signing up online and using the booking code KMNEWS20.

Besides raising revenue for other charities and good causes, the challenge events also fund the KM Charity Team’s core work providing green-travel and educational services and projects across the south-east.