Short version: 

Age UK are a great charity doing incredibly important work. Please sponsor me!!

Long version:

Since January 2015 I have been working as a part-time volunteer for the Coventry branch of Age UK. I have chosen to support them by running the marathon because I have seen first hand the incredibly valuable job they do. 

I spend a couple of hours a week visiting a gentleman named Jim, who lives in Coventry. Jim is 83, is diabetic and has limited mobility. He lives on his own and has no close family or friends to help him get by when he finds things tough. Until I was put in touch with him through Age UK, he had no regular visitors at all. I have been privileged to get to know him and build up a friendship with him over time. I know that he looks forward to our weekly chats. Just having some company and someone to talk things through with has had a really positive impact on him.

The scope of the services Age UK provides is massive. One of their many aims is to give help to people like Jim who want to hold on to their independence as they reach old age but for a variety of reasons have little or no support from families or friends. To those individuals, the support they receive from Age UK is critical to them being able to maintain the happiness, dignity and respect I am sure we all hope to achieve when we reach the later stages of our lives. Their friendship scheme provides companionship to elderly people who otherwise would have very little opportunity to interact socially and could face the sad prospect of loneliness and possible depression. 

My experience of working with Age UK in Coventry has been so positive. The people who work there are dedicated, hard-working and passionate about what they do. They are good people doing good work and they have inspired me to play the small part I can to try to help. Unfortunately their services are under severe pressure. They need funding to carry on helping the people they help, faced with ever increasing demand and limited resources. I have seen for myself that even small acts of kindness can make an enormous difference to the well-being of an individual. Each contribution really does count. 

I am sure many of you already contribute to the multitude of good causes out there but if you are able to support me in meeting this challenge I really would be very grateful so please dig deep and give me a little or a lot, it is all very welcome indeed.