Blair Lochrie
Marathon for Mulberry Bush
Fundraising for Mulberry Bush School
Story
I am really excited to be running London Marathon, and even more excited to be raising money for Mulberry Bush. It is the most amazing, and toughest, place I have ever worked, and the children I got to know and care for there will stay with me forever. The work they do changes children's lives (and I don't say things like that lightly), and I think they are 100% deserving of any money we can give them- both the children who are at Mulberry Bush now, those who will be, and the adults that support them to stay there and become part of Mulberry Bush. Because I think that feeling of belonging is the single thing that makes the most difference to every child that is held by Mulberry Bush.
Established in 1948, the Mulberry Bush School works with some of the most distressed and vulnerable primary school-age children in the country. They have already been excluded from several schools and have usually been disrupting the community in which they live for a long time. They appear to be out of control and impossible to teach but, given their very difficult home circumstances, it is surprising that they have managed to cope for so long. The children will often have been neglected, abused, witnessed things which no child should have to, assumed excessive responsibility and, in all probability, never experienced a stable loving home life.
Situated outside Oxford, the Mulberry Bush accepts children aged 5-13 from all over England. With the great patience, reassurance and skilled care provided at the Mulberry Bush, these children are gradually encouraged to a stage where, possibly for the first time in their lives, they can learn to trust and respect themselves and others, establish ordinary relationships and begin to learn. Their appetite for self-improvement then increases dramatically and the success rate of the school is very high. By the time they leave most of the children are ready to rejoin their community, go to local schools and lead a rewarding life.
Despite being a national resource, the school receives no central government funding. Local authorities pay the fees which cover the basic cost of care and education. However, these do not allow for any capital development, extension of therapeutic care, or any of the extra-curricular activities which other children take for granted.
93% of the children are successfully reintegrated into a suitable family.
100% go to an appropriate school when they leave.