Last October, after many years battling with his mental health, our much-loved son and brother lost his final fight. As someone who had experienced the depths of despair, Will had great empathy with others who were struggling. This included the homeless, and a cause he became extremely passionate about was ‘BillyChip’ (see below). 

Will signed up for the Bath Half in 2020 to raise money for BillyChip. He didn’t quite manage it, despite his best efforts. This year, we’re running it on his behalf. For BillyChip. For Billy. For Billy’s family who gave Will compassion and friendship when he most needed it. And of course - for our Will. 

If you would like to sponsor us as we try to raise all the money we can for this great cause, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We’ll leave the last words to Will and share the message below which he wrote in 2020 as he set out on the start of this journey that we are simply finishing on his behalf. 

Wish us luck - we will definitely need it!

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Will’s fundraising page 2020

At short notice (with a friend having recently been obliged to pull out), I am running the Bath Half Marathon on 15th March 2020. I’ve been spurred on my accelerated training programme (!) after meeting the founder of a local charity www.billychip.com. Conscious that this year’s Half Marathon entrants have had a longer lead time to raise their sponsorship monies, one of the key benefits of my chosen charity is its novelty.

This charity is aimed at people who want to make a modest, yet positive, difference to the lives of people who find themselves homeless. Sadly, this excellent idea was borne out of tragic circumstances. A 20 year old ambulance driver from Bristol, called Billy Abernethy-Hope, came up with the idea shortly before going off on a backpacking holiday in Thailand, where he tragically died. 

Billy understood that giving money to people who are homeless can at times be considered something of a catch-22 situation raising doubts in donors’ minds as to how the money might be spent. There are of course lots of people living on the streets who spend money sensibly; sadly, there are those who might chose to spend any money inappropriately.

I recently met Billy’s mother, Sarah, who founded the scheme in her son's memory. The principle involved, is that a token (called a 'BillyChip') can be purchased and handed out to someone instead of money, and the token can be used to buy a hot drink or something to eat at participating outlets. Each time a donation is received for a BillyChip, part of the money goes towards the B A Hope Foundation which seeks ways of supporting local people and contributing to good local causes which were close to Billy's heart. Another part of the donation goes towards the retailer’s costs of supplying the drink. This scheme encourages retail outlets to broaden their corporate social responsibility, and with more and more people participating, there is the potential to up-scale this worthy cause is limitless.

To the recipient, the BillyChip is far more than a simple cup of tea and a sandwich - it represents a significant, compassionate gesture to someone who has lost his or her way. Through this simple concept, Billy was seeking to alleviate a small moment of the day to someone experiencing the hardships of homelessness.

With continuing and growing support, it has the potential to become a means by which many generous people - who might at times feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem or consider themselves somehow powerless - can make a meaningful difference. Homelessness has become an enormous problem, and one which needs multiple weapons in its armoury to help people transition back into housing and employment.

The BillyChip already enjoys good support thanks to the hard work of Billy's family and the generosity of the general public. The bravery and hard work of the Billy’s family to honour and remember his generous spirit deserves support. I will be doing my small bit to help raise some much needed sponsorship - if you feel you could spur me on to the finish line on Sunday 15th March, your contribution to my justgiving page would be enormously appreciated.

P.s. Does anyone have a spare pair of trainers I could borrow?!