Having witnessed first hand the devastating effects of knife crime over the past 18 years of my service I wanted to raise money towards a project which could be delivered to young people across Tendring raising awareness of the dangers of carrying weapons. There has been a national and local increase in serious violence including the use of weapons and therefore I believe it is so important that we educate young persons of the dangers involved and the implications to them as individuals, their friends and families.

Only Cowards Carry Weapons Awareness was founded in November 2012 by Caroline Shearer in memory of her 17 year old son Jay Whiston, who was fatally stabbed in September 2012. Continually driven by the devastating loss of Jay, Caroline and the team have worked tirelessly to promote Only Cowards Carry Weapons Awareness in the hope that young people understand the stark facts and devastating, life changing, true reality of knife crime. Caroline began to investigate education given to children at school, and discovered that although children were being taught internet safety, road safety and even sex education from as young as 7 years old, there was no provision for Weapons Awareness education.

I will be running the London Marathon on 28th April 2019 in order to raise as much money as possible to support Only Cowards Carry in delivering this project to all Year 8 and 9 students across Secondary schools in Tendring from September. I hope this will lead to Tendring becoming a safer place to live, especially for our young people who are our future, and educate them in how to remain safe and stay away from a life of crime.