Over the past year I have become a keen runner and in the spring I completed my first half marathon in Wimbledon. I wanted to do another half marathon, this time on behalf of a charity and I have chosen this cause because it isn't an area that gets much support. But I believe it is important to give people second chances in life. The majority of people in prison have faced disadvantage throughout their lives, they have grown up in care, been excluded from school and left with no qualifications; many prisoners have mental health problems and use drugs and alcohol, more than 60% used drugs before going to prison, while 70% say they were drinking when they committed their crime. And prison does not stop people committing crime. Nearly half of all adults commit crime again after they leave prison, crime which costs taxpayers up to £13b per year. If prison was able to help these people deal with their problems by rehabilitating them then they are going to be less likely to reoffend when they rejoin society, and more likely to do something positive instead. That's why the work of Prisoners' Education Trust is so vital. Their work is proven to reduce reoffending. They give people opportunities to learn and work towards new futures for themselves and their families. 200,000 children have a parent in prison - I think we all need to do something to make sure they don't end up following their parent's footsteps - and instead mothers and fathers inside become role models. Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and for reading my views. If you agree this is an important issues, please donate. 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 Prisoners' Education Trust. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. Thank you again. Tom.

Find out more about Prisoners' Education Trust: https://www.justgiving.com/petrust