Thanks so much for clicking on my link!!!!

I first started volunteering for Age UK 2 years ago, when I ran a singing group in Sutton called 'Sing For Joy' - I would play whichever songs the ladies and gentlemen wanted to sing, for about an hour and a half a week, and we would have a great time doing it! I also taught them breathing exercises and ways to improve their posture, which helped many of the people who came to the group. Of course the best bit was having a cup of tea and cake afterwards and listening to all of their stories. Of course the main aim of the group was help with loneliness - for many of the ladies and gentlemen it was only time they left their house and spent time with other people - the transport was also provided by other Age UK volunteers. It was a real privilege to be a part of this group.

After this, I volunteered as a befriender to an amazing lady called Iris, who was 99 years old, and had such a sad story because she'd outlived all of her family and was desperately lonely. She was also a music teacher so I used to go round and make her some tea and cake and play her songs on her piano which she'd sing along to. I loved seeing her and I think my visits helped her not feel so isolated. Sadly, she passed away last year but it was so lovely to keep her company at the end of her life. Unfortunately, I've moved to a new area which doesn't have the funding to support befrienders at the moment - I would love to start doing this again when it's possible, but I hope that running the marathon through Age UK will help a bit towards being able to fund befrienders around here.

Age UK is such a wonderful charity and I feel really lucky to have worked as a volunteer and a befriender for them. I think the work that Age
 UK does is amazing and have seen first hand the difference it can make, so anything I can do to help raise money to fund more of this work would be such a privilege.

A bit about me. I'm 34 years old, and a musician in London's West End. I'm also a Type 1 diabetic so running the marathon (which would be my first) will be a tremendous physical and mental achievement for me.  I started running as a way to deal with some difficult stuff I was going through - in January 2015 I couldn't even run 10 minutes without having to stop. I ran a half marathon as part of my training in November, and managed to finish it in 2h 19 mins. I've been working really hard and have undergone a massive physical and mental transformation because of running - it's really changed my life. So I'd love to use it to give back and possibly to help to change someone else's life through the money I raise.

I don't have much more to say really, I hope you'll consider donating to Age UK, I feel really honored to be running the marathon for them and the amazing work that they do.

Laura x

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.