Story
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My brother and I are raising money for Magic Breakfast, a small registered charity that fights child hunger through breakfast clubs and delivering free breakfasts (bagels, cereal, juice and porridge) to thousands of state primary school children in the UK particularly our inner cities.</span></span></span></strong></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The challenge:</span></strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Vasaloppet is an annual long-distance (90km) cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March in Sweden between the village of Salen and Mora. It is one of the oldest, one of the longest and considered the biggest cross-country ski race in the world. </span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The charity:</span></strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Magic Breakfast has been providing free breakfasts for nine years to UK primary schools where over 50% of pupils are on free school meals. The charity, which won a ‘Big Society’ award last year, provides food for 6,000 children in 200 schools, in some of the most deprived parts of the country and is struggling to meet the increased demand. An astonishing 32% of children arrive at school without having had breakfast, undermining their ability to learn and achieve so this charity provides a practical, immediate solution to the problem of child hunger and improved child energy and concentration levels. </span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The support:</span></strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> There are still 80 schools on the Magic Breakfast waiting list and with funding they could be feeding the children in these schools within weeks. Only £42 provides a child with a nutritious breakfast each school morning for a whole year and £2,500 is enough to run a entire school breakfast club in school for a year.</span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The stats:</span></strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">An interesting read about Magic Breakfast and the importance of breakfast clubs on Channel 4 News website: </span><span style="color: #2a42c6; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/breakfast-club-charity-reports-four-fold-rise-in-demand"><span style="color: blue;">Breakfast club boom reveals reality of child poverty</span></a>.</span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">93% of Magic Breakfast partner schools saw increased concentration and energy in class with the breakfast club</span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">88% of schools have seen an improvement in attainment and attendance</span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">94% of schools have seen healthier eating habits in the children attending. </span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</span></em></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So please dig deep and donate now.</span></em></span></span></p>
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