Hello!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my fundraising page.

I’ve never been a huge runner but last year I entered the Richmond Half Marathon on a bit of a whim. 13.1 miles later and I was in pieces at the finish line… but had the feeling that there was more I could give. So for the first time I went and watched the London Marathon and fell in love with the idea of completing something so physically & mentally demanding – so here I am – this April I will be running 26.2 miles, a full 13.1 miles further than I have ever run and something which seemed impossible only a few weeks ago. Not everyone has the ability to run such a distance so it was important that some good came out of this and my dead legs wouldn’t go to waste! Having grown up in South East London I wanted to help a charity that had its roots in where I started and so alongside the hours of training I will also be raising as much money as I can for The Albany Charity Fund.

The Albany Charity was started in 1972 by a group of like-minded black taxi drivers at a petrol station on the Walworth Road – nearly 45 years later and it is still improving the lives of hundreds of mentally handicapped children each year. The charity began by arranging transport to take a group of these kids to the seaside from their Bermondsey home – bringing some joy into their lives and providing a service the council & homes looking after them simply could not. Ever since that first year the charity has continued to grow and now they take many children & adults from various homes in South East London in an amazing convoy of over 120 brightly decorated black Taxis.

All these outings are attended by Licensed Taxi-Drivers not only from London but also from the suburbs; they supply themselves and their Taxi free of charge and are always on hand to help the children and really make the trips special. The charity has evolved from simple transportation to now giving grants to schools & homes to purchase things from wheelchairs to hand bells – in fact anything that the local councils cannot supply – which in this present day is more than you would think.

It is true that Albany isn’t as big as some of the major charities that other people will be running for but that is why it is even more important for me to run for them – small charities need our help as much as any others and it will be an absolute honour to wear their vest over the finish line.

Please help me to raise as much as possible and you can really make a difference to a disabled child’s life – we take a lot for granted in this day-and-age and it really does feel good to give something back.

http://www.albany-charity.org/about.htm