Jonathan Conlin is fundraising for Jesuit Refugee Service

Jonathan Conlin's Fundraising Page

Flora London Marathon 2009

on 26/04/2009

Thank you, Eddie Van Halen!

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Raising money for

Jesuit Refugee Service

Charity Registration No. 230165

Jesuit Refugee Service UK accompanies, serves and advocates on behalf of asylum seekers from their first arrival until they are settled satisfactorily. We especially work with detained asylum seekers and destitute asylum seekers. This work then feeds into our campaigning and lobbying activities at a local, national and international level.

Page owner

Jonathan Conlin

RSS

Raised: 79%

Target: £1,500.00
Raised so far: £1,180.00

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My story

I did it! The weather was perfect and as ever the support from the crowd was exhilarating. My time may have been worse than 2004 but I enjoyed it so much that
I just wasn't fussed. I had a cold in the two weeks running up to the big day, but in the end I decided not to pull out. As it turned out I got through, and always felt I had just enough energy in reserve to rugby tackle that 94 year-old to the ground if he tried anything on. Which he didn't. At mile 24 I put on my earphones, hit "play" and left Van Halen's "Jump" on repeat. Which helped me push through "the wall".

I ran on behalf of JRS: the Jesuit Refugee Service, a registered charity that works with displaced persons in over 50 countries, including Congo and Rwanda. JRS works both directly, in refugee camps and detention centres, but also does excellent advocacy work, campaigning to ensure that refugees and Internally Displaced persons are accorded their human rights. Although they - like Christian Aid - are a faith-based organisation, they do not seek to convert those they help

I do my bit for JRS as a volunteer here in London. Once a week I visit a Detention Centre at Heathrow Airport, spending an hour or two with a particular detainee - most of the time just listening. I'm still way too new at this to have much of a perspective on the difficult question of immigration controls. But it is clear to me that nobody becomes an asylum-seeker on a whim, to 'shop around' for a 'soft-touch', for benefits, or whatever else the Mail and some other papers might suggest. Some of the people I've visited have been living and working in this country 15 years longer than I have, but are stuck in a Kafka-esque 'system' without a clue how long they will remain in detention. Yet on the spectrum of JRS work I am very much at the "easy" end - I can hardly imagine what it must be like in DR Congo, etc.

Please give what you can to help JRS' work.

	Well done, Jon, long after the triumph! Donation by Lawrence Klein 26/07/09	£40.00 + £11.28 Gift Aid
	bravissimo post event! Donation by Phoebe Blackburn 02/05/09	£30.00
	Congratulations on your achievement. I wish you all the best in reaching your target for a very worthwhile cause. Donation by Julie Gammon 29/04/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	good stuff! Donation by Mark Levene 29/04/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Climb those stairs Sir.... Donation by Raphael Harrington 25/04/09	£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid
	Personally, I would opt for The Killers. Donation by Joan 25/04/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Run well & how about you do a detour to the detention centre in addition to vauxhall gardens? Well done for your dedication to noble causes! Donation by Helen Historyworks 25/04/09	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	Will you get interviewed at the end? If so, will you use the phrase 'forensic entomologist'? Run well! Donation by Alister Chapman 24/04/09	£50.00
	Have you got more turbo and tires? Not sure that missiles are allowed though. Donation by Dave Taggart 23/04/09	£75.00
	I hope Luther (Vandross, not Martin) knows what he's in for... Loads of luck! Donation by Cathy FitzGerald 20/04/09	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	"Running With The Night" (or "The Final Countdown") may help as well ;-) Good luck! Donation by Wim 19/04/09	£15.00
	Donation by Peter 17/04/09	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	Don't get distracted by any cemeteries en route - good luck! Donation by Imtiaz 15/04/09	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	you are a crazy man - 26 miles Donation by Viccy 13/04/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Go and get him, you groover... Donation by Martinez 07/04/09	£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid
	Good luck - ESSCA shirt and Van Halen will get you through! Donation by Ulrich 05/04/09	£50.00
	You'll need to improve your taste in music if you want to finish! Donation by Nicholas Kingwell 02/04/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	hope it goes via Vauxhall gardens Donation by Anne Curry 01/04/09	£75.00 + £21.15 Gift Aid
	Good Luck! Donation by Katie and Ian 31/03/09	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	Better you than me - good luck! Donation by Alex 28/03/09	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	Think of it as a sight seeing tour of London Donation by Harry and Jane Conlin 27/03/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Zooooom!!! Donation by Lucia & Lisa & Jens 25/03/09	£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid
	Good luck for the race Donation by Maria 25/03/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	An excellent cause - best of luck Donation by Kendrick 25/03/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Good luck from, er, your role model... Donation by Adrian 25/03/09	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Alles Gute bei der neue-Schnueckisuche! Donation by Robin 24/03/09	£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid
	Good luck Marathon Man Donation by Hilary 23/03/09	£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid
	In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas Donation by In memory of Jan Hus, obit 1415. 23/03/09	£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid
	When I finish the Sheffield Half I shall think of you with the same distance to go again! Go for it, young un! Donation by Frank 23/03/09	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	Good luck! I'll also be cheering you on on the day! Donation by lzanre 12/02/09	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

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* Total raised online:	£1,180.00
Offline donations:	£0.00
Gift Aid plus supplement:	£262.31

* Charities pay a small fee for our service.
Find out how much it is and what we do for it.