I have been lucky enough to secure a place in the London Marathon for 2017 and I wanted to motivate myself by raising funds for a local worthy cause. The marathon distance is 26.2 miles and I would like people to sponsor me on one of two levels, 10 pence per mile or 20 pence per mile. I want people to motivate me run the race and not have to pay a fortune in doing so. I hope to persuade lots of people to sponsor me towards my target of £500.
WHY AM I ASKING?
I was attending my local church just before Christmas for a candlelight service. The organ played by Martin Bates was so beautiful, traditional and fitting and it set the scene for a lovely service. Then Martin announced (yes, that's him and the choir in the picture),
“Our poor old church organ is beginning to sound its age. In its present form it is about 90 years old and is wheezing like a veritable nonagenarian! It does its best to sound as it did in the 1920s but bits of it have stopped working and it won’t be long before more goes wrong. In church archives we recently discovered that when rebuilt in 1927, Peter Conacher of Huddersfield used a lot of pipes from a previous organ possibly dating from the 1820s. That means those pipes are almost 200 years old! Help us renovate our rare instrument so our children and grandchildren will still be able to enjoy the beautiful sounds craftsmen created in the past. There is nothing to beat a fine pipe organ at the heart of the music in church”.
Following that service I visited other churches over the Christmas period that sadly no longer have organs and this made me feel even more committed to help keep our local church organ in working order as it enriches the services, including weddings, baptisms, funerals and civic services all available to the whole community. The total cost of refurbishment will be around £50,000! Here is how you can help me raise money.

Thank you for anything thing you can do to help me.