Hello Friends,

I will be running the Hackney Half Marathon to raise money for the British Red Cross. This organisation helps people in the UK and across the world to get the support they need.

I started out volunteering for the British Red Cross' Health and Community Department and now have become part of the team as a paid employee. We partner with the homeless teams in Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital and King's Hospital.

Our project is to keep vulnerable people off the streets and aid them in any way we can. I have experienced first-hand the difference these donations can make to our service users in times of crisis.

With just £10 we can provide someone with new clothes to wear, a meal when they are discharged from the hospital into a new home, we can buy them essentials such as toiletries and bedding, we can get them a bus fare for essential travel, among many other things.

The money raised up to the target will directly go towards this department of the British Red Cross. Anything raised beyond the target will be distributed to other sectors of the organisation. This can help people in many ways:

£5 could provide a community in Bangladesh with training on water sanitation and hygiene, helping people keep themselves healthy after a disaster.

£12 could buy a hygiene pack for a refugee or person seeking asylum in the UK, giving them access to some of the basics no one should go without.

£20 could give a parent in the UK the essential items they need to care for a newborn baby, when they have lost everything due to flooding

£50 could help a family in Nigeria prepare for when severe flooding hits again.

£75 could keep 150 survivors of a fire at a block of flats in the UK warm, while we support them in finding emergency accommodation for the night.

If you would like to know more about the British Red Cross you can find out what we stand for and what we are working on through the website, link below.

https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us

Any donation you can give would be much appreciated!