Two dedicated members of staff at Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children decided to go that extra mile when they took part in the Morrison’s Great Birmingham Run at the weekend.
Chris Fielding, the Deputy Community Fundraising Manager at Newlife Foundation, based at the Cannock head office and Keleigh Tomlinson, Midlands Regional Fundraising and Awareness Manager, took to the city streets to raise money for Newlife – the UK’s largest charitable provider of essential paediatric equipment to meet the specialist needs of children with disabilities and terminal illness.
While Chris finished the half marathon in 1 hour 56 minutes, raising £130 for the charity, Keleigh raised £165 and completed the course in 2 hours and 10 minutes. She said: “The eleventh mile was hard, I’m not going to lie it took everything I had left to get me to the top. The minute bit of energy I had was used up during that mile and when I reached the 12th mile, it was a well-deserved jelly belly that actually gave me a boost to help me carry on and persist to the end in aid of Newlife!”
Chris added: “Taking part was a really brilliant and positive experience and it was great to have so many people cheering me on – I have never done so many high fives in my life!
“I have also never run that far before either as this was my first ever half marathon. I was shattered afterwards, but so pleased that I had done it, especially for such a good cause. It also means a lot to know that 100 per cent of every penny fundraised will go towards helping local children who need help right now.”
As Chris spends his days talking to people about raising money for Newlife, he feels it’s important to take part in many of the activities for himself as he can – and has already tried his hand at selling jewellery for a sparkle party held at a Co-op members meeting. Sparkle Parties are where all the jewellery is supplied and the proceeds are donated to Newlife, which can be a great social way to raise money.
Inspired by his recent half marathon success, the next fundraising endeavour for Chris will be the Wolf Run – a 10k run held in Warwickshire in April next year which sees participants tackling woods, obstacles, lakes and fields – and if that doesn’t get his adrenaline pumping enough, there’s always a skydive to raise money for Newlife.
There are some very exciting ways to raise money for Newlife, but if running and jumping isn’t your style, there are a huge variety of things people can do to raise money, from baking cakes to karaoke.
Newlife needs to raise over £8,000 every day of the year in order to meet the equipment needs of UK children affected by disability. Newlife does not receive any government funding, so every penny raised through fundraising helps towards providing children with the equipment they need to reduce pain, develop abilities, learn, communicate, be safe, aid independence and to enjoy a decent quality of life.
You can still help Chris and Keleigh boost their total for taking part in the Great Birmingham Run by donating to www.justgiving.com/Chris-Fielding1 or www.justgiving.com/Keleigh-Tomlinson2/
If you would like to fundraise for Newlife in the Staffordshire area visit www.newlifecharity.co.uk for some inspiration or call Staffordshire Fundraising and Awareness Manager Keleigh Tomlinson on 07973 473268.
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Pictured: Newlife Foundation Deputy Community Fundraising Manager, Chris Fielding, supported by the charity’s Fundraising and Events Co-ordinator, Rebecca Brooks.
Web: https://newlifecharity.co.uk
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