Charity of the Month
There are so many worthwhile causes out there, that in the run up to race day it can be difficult choosing a charity that best represents you. To help you choose the right cause for your big race, we bring you the Women's Running Charity of the Month.
Join the Run for Wishes Team
Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK has a very simple objective – to grant magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses. The charity was founded in the UK in 1986 and since then has granted over 7,100 wishes.There are over 20,000 children in the UK living with a life-threatening illness. Make-A-Wish believe that every one of them deserves to experience the magic of a Make-A-Wish wish – and they are truly magical. This year, around 1,200 children will turn to Make-A-Wish to have their special wish granted – they need to raise over £5.5 million per year to continue granting these magical wishes.
But Francesca’s wish day wasn’t about hospitals and treatment – it was a chance for her and her family to forget about such things, just for one magical day. She was treated like a true princess at Thornbury Castle in Bristol, where she had her nails painted and her make-up done before stepping into her dress, shoes and tiara. She was then swept off in her very own horse-drawn carriage before enjoying afternoon tea.After having tea, scones and cakes Francesca, who is from Colne in Lancashire, played Hide and Seek in the castle’s grounds.Nicola said: “Throughout the whole day she was treated like a princess; the waiters and waitresses even took to calling her ‘Princess Francesca’. She didn’t want to take her dress off when she got home!”She went on: “She’ll never forget her wish day; it meant the world after what she’s been through and I just want to say a big thank you to Make-A-Wish for making her dreams come true.”For further information on any of the runs, please contact the Make-A-Wish run team on01276 40 50 89 or email runs@make-a-wish.org.uk
Join their team and Run for Wishes
Join their running team, whether by taking part in your local 5K fun run or competing in a prestigious overseas marathon, and you’ll receive a warm welcome. Make-A-Wish have guaranteed places available in the Liverpool Marathon, Brighton Marathon, Silverstone Half Marathon, Reading Half Marathon, Great North Run and Bupa London 10K for 2012. Every sponsor you sign up, every pound you collect, will help Make-A-Wish to grant more magical wishes to some very special children. Register your run via their website; they will support you throughout your training with a running pack, a T-shirt to run in and plenty of fundraising ideas. By joining their Run for Wishes team you will help Make-A-Wish to continue to grant wishes like Francesca’s:Seven year old Francesca had always wanted to be a princess, so it was no surprise to discover what her heartfelt wish was – to be a princess for the day... When Francesca was a couple of days old, Mum Nicola noticed that she wasn’t feeding properly. One month later she was diagnosed as having a complex form of Pulmonary Atresia; problems with the blood flow around the heart. At just eight weeks old, Francesca had to have a cardiac catheter test.But Francesca’s wish day wasn’t about hospitals and treatment – it was a chance for her and her family to forget about such things, just for one magical day. She was treated like a true princess at Thornbury Castle in Bristol, where she had her nails painted and her make-up done before stepping into her dress, shoes and tiara. She was then swept off in her very own horse-drawn carriage before enjoying afternoon tea.After having tea, scones and cakes Francesca, who is from Colne in Lancashire, played Hide and Seek in the castle’s grounds.Nicola said: “Throughout the whole day she was treated like a princess; the waiters and waitresses even took to calling her ‘Princess Francesca’. She didn’t want to take her dress off when she got home!”She went on: “She’ll never forget her wish day; it meant the world after what she’s been through and I just want to say a big thank you to Make-A-Wish for making her dreams come true.”For further information on any of the runs, please contact the Make-A-Wish run team on01276 40 50 89 or email runs@make-a-wish.org.uk 