Alice Kendall, Young Person’s Housing Advice Worker based at YMCA YAC completed the Brighton Half-Marathon on Sunday 23 February. Here she tells us all about it and why she ran for YMCA YAC:
“It was a really windy day and I woke up that morning almost convinced it was going to be cancelled but it wasn’t and I was terrified! In actual fact it wasn’t too bad. The last few miles I was propelled to the finishing line and that felt great!
“I’ve been running since 2012 when I ran/walked the great south run (10 miles) to fundraise for a volunteering trip to Kenya. But I’ve only really been able to run long distance without stopping in the last 3 years.
“I’ve worked at YMCA YAC for two and a half years now and I see how we support young people on a daily basis. Our Emergency Fund (which is where the money raised will go) has allowed us to keep young people off the streets and keep them safe. It’s the second time I have ran for YMCA YAC and I’ve signed up for the Richmond Marathon in September and will fundraise for that too!”
YMCA YAC will use the money donated through the Young People’s Emergency Fund to:
- Pay for a homeless young person to stay for the night in a Backpacker’s hostel, when they have no other options. This could be the difference between them sleeping outside on the streets or having a safe place to stay.
- Work with them to help find longer-term safe accommodation and link them into further support with finding a job or training.
- Provide insecurely housed young people with food parcels so they can have a decent meal.
Well done Alice for braving the elements and completing the half marathon. If you’d like to donate click here for Alice’s JustGiving page. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/yacrun2020
