Story
<p>Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</p>
<p>Some people would call me mad but I have decided this year to run the London Marathon. 26 miles is quite a challenge therefore it was important for me to be running for a worthwhile cause.</p>
<p>With their head office in my hometown of Hereford, Concern Universal helps 1.5 million people across 12 countries worldwide by improving their quality of life.</p>
<p>The team at Concern Universal work together with people living in poverty to enable them to improve the quality of their lives through practical work with individuals, communities and partners ties in Africa, Asia and Latin America to:</p>
<p><strong>Improve food security and sustainable livelihoods</strong> through Agricultural development, nurturing natural resources, and enabling access to microfinance and markets.</p>
<p><strong>Improve health</strong> through access to safe water & sanitation, preventive healthcare, improved nutrition, & action on HIV and AIDS.</p>
<p><strong>Improve respect for rights</strong> through empowerment of women, children and other vulnerable groups.</p>
<p><strong>Improve skills</strong> through literacy circles, capacity building, and other training.</p>
<p><strong>Reduce vulnerability</strong> through disaster risk reduction, integrating emergency preparedness and response work with long-term development.</p>
<p>Everywhere Concern Universal work, there are local organisations with the passion, the commitment and the ability to make a lasting contribution to the development of their country.<span> </span>Concern Universal works with 60 such organisations worldwide, supporting their work and strengthening their ability to make a positive and lasting difference within their communities.</p>
<p>Further information is available at <a href="http://www.concernuniversal.org/">http://www.concernuniversal.org/</a>!</p>
<p>In these tough economic times with VAT increases, spending cuts and rising interest rates it can be difficult to justify giving to charity. Anything you can spare would be appreciated and will go a long way to helping those much worse off than ourselves. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>So please dig deep and donate now.</p>