Coram is the first and longest-running children's charity that has been supporting vulnerable children for 279 years, and is still finding new ways to help children. We now help around 1.4 million children and young people every year.

Working for Coram means it is a bit of a no-brainer in terms of which charity I would run the marathon for. I’m so proud of working for Coram, and the legacy of the charity and everything that it does for children’s rights. Running through the streets of London with Coram's name on my t-shirt will be a huge privilege, following in the footsteps of Thomas Coram.

Coram is named after Thomas Coram, originally from Lyme Regis in Dorset, close to where I now live, who went to America and saw that both boys and girls were provided with an education to make a better life for themselves. When he returned to the UK he saw the streets of London full of abandoned and neglected children and knew he needed to act. This is when he set up the first children's home, known as the Foundling Hospital. You can learn more about our history here.

Today we work as a group of specialist organisations – the Coram Group – helping hundreds of thousands of children, young people, families, and professionals every year. We support children and young people from infancy to independence, creating change that lasts a lifetime through our range of activities, including:

-Free legal advice and representation

-Adoption, fostering, kinship, and therapy services

-Life skills, drama, and volunteer reading programmes

-Advocacy for children and young people in and leaving care

-Best practice support for children’s services, teachers, and families

-Research based on our experience in delivering better services for children and young people

-International research and consultancy on children’s rights, with areas covered including migration, youth justice, child protection and exploitation

We're not about quick fixes; we're here for the long haul, offering assistance from infancy to independence. Our services empower children and leave lasting impacts.

Every penny aids us in providing critical support, guidance, and care to these children, ensuring they have a brighter future. Thank you for reading this and please join me in supporting Coram as we strive for a world where every child's potential can flourish.