Our team are walking from Canterbury Cathedral to Southwark Cathedral, leaving tomorrow, Saturday 15^th April, to raise money for Tanager Wealth Management’s nominated charity, the Soup Kitchen London.

The walkers will cover 100 miles in 5 days largely following the historic Pilgrims Way which links the Canterbury and Winchester cathedrals as well as branching up to Southwark cathedral.  The route is steeped in history and is particularly well known as a route take by Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales.  Technically, the route is being walked in reverse, for no other reason than that the logistics worked better if the finish was in London!

The support that we have received so far has been overwhelming and we are nearing £20,000 in total funds raised.  

In recognition of this, we would like to introduce our main walkers who will be participating in the whole walk:

Roger Saller – Expedition Leader

Born and raised in New England, Roger and his family moved to the UK for a three year work assignment in 1999. The family fell in love with the culture and weather and never left. Key motivation was: amazing people, no blizzards nor hurricanes, and no mosquitos – though Scottish midges nearly tipped the scales back!

Roger is an experienced hill walker and veteran of the numerous UK charity walks of 60 miles in under 24hrs, as well as week-long treks in China, Nepal and Peru. His love of outdoor challenges motivated him to set goals for his next career. He has registered to become a qualified British guide, leading others in the beauty and excitement of outdoor activities! He is candidate for the British Mountain Leading Award, taking formal training in expedition planning, weather, navigation and group management skills. These skills take advantage of his accomplishments in project planning and risk management honed during three decades of leading all levels of IT development within financial services in USA and London.

In 2018 Roger walked the Bryson Line, 569 miles in 30 days from Cape Wrath to Bognor Regis, as part of a team raising £150,000 for five charities.

Alex Brown – CEO, The Soup Kitchen London

Alex Brown is the Director of The Whitefield Charity SK Corporation, better known as Soup Kitchen London. Established in 1986, the Soup Kitchen is a resource for the homeless, elderly, lonely and vulnerable. They provide free meals, clothing, toiletries and a sense of belonging to nearly 200 guests daily. As Director, Alex is responsible for the organisation’s UK & US day-to-day operations with specific oversight in fundraising, volunteer and corporate partner relations and regulatory governance.

When Alex took over as Director of the charity in 2017, they had a staff of 4, supported 65 people per day and had an income of about £75,000 per year. The Soup Kitchen now has 14 employees and contractors and is on track for revenue of £500,000 this year, along with supporting nearly 200 homeless and vulnerable people daily.

‘We rely on many different companies and individuals to support our work each day and Tanager has been a phenomenal partner. When Alex Eichhorn first reached out to tell us about this fundraising walk from Canterbury to London, we were blown away. This walk aims to raise money for our new evening service, which will feed so many people in the community who are struggling to feed themselves. A very sincere thank you to Alex, Roger and the entire team from Tanager Wealth for supporting Soup Kitchen London.’

Alex Eichhorn – Managing Partner, Tanager Wealth Management

After helping raise £150,000 for five charities in 2018 it was only a matter of time before I found an excuse to pull on the walking boots and commit to another fundraising walk. The Tanager Team selected the Soup Kitchen as our nominated charity in 2022 and having volunteered there I have seen the vital work the charity carries out every day helping people in need. You can find out a bit more about me here.

Throughout the five days the team will be joined by colleagues from Tanager and professional contacts from accounting firms that work with US taxpayers in the UK. In all another 30 walkers will participate on the walk.

Over the course of the walk, we will be providing updates on their progress on Instagram – @tanagerinthecommunity- and our company LinkedIn page. 

Finally, you can support our walkers in two ways. First, a donation is gratefully received – you can see how to donate here. Second, take a walk in your local area between April 15th and 19th and send us your pictures. We will share these at the end of the walk to demonstrate the support we have received and that we had friends walking in spirit with us.