After running my first half marathons in 2024 (Wokingham and Reading) I thought it would be fun to enter the London Marathon Ballot for the first time… and here we are!

I’ve decided to raise money for a local charity named Power of Parenting (POP) as I’d like to help to raise the profile of the incredible, selfless work that foster parents do as well as supporting foster children to have equal opportunities to their peers.

Having worked in education for 11 years - and having worked with children for 16 years - I have witnessed the impact that children’s traumatic past can have on them. Your donation will help to provide financial support for extra curricular activities, further education, job opportunities, mental health support and much, much more. Foster children deserve better - let’s make a difference to their lives.

More about POP:

Power of Parenting believes in equal opportunity for all children and recognises the invaluable work foster families do to enable children who are looked after (Foster Children) to have normal lives filled with warmth and kindness, created in safe, loving homes. This is the "Power of Parenting" when practised for the benefit of the children with their best interests at heart.

The change in Foster Children's confidence and self-esteem levels when they are shown consistent kindness and support is a joy to behold.

Power of Parenting was established to try to break the cycle of neglect and potentially in some cases, crime, which so many young people in care would find themselves heading towards were it not for the support of local authorities and foster families.

The Charity's main objective is to provide financial and moral support to Foster Children/ Children who have been adopted. We want to help them fulfil their academic/or sporting potential in further education, giving them greater opportunity to achieve their own personal goals in later life. In certain instances we can support children with bursaries for University if that is what they aspire to do. POP charity also does a multitude of other activities to support children from care developing valuable life skills to enable them to thrive and succeed.

In addition, there is a desperate need for more foster families to support Foster Children who need new homes, both temporarily and in some cases more permanently. Power of Parenting aims to spread the word about the joys of fostering and promote the recruitment of new foster families.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.