Hi, my name is Jack and I’ve been accepted into the great north run half marathon!

I will be taking this opportunity to raise money for the GAMFAM charity. A charity I know closely, a charity of which the services they provide, I utilise them in helping myself with my gambling recovery journey. GAMFAM help many families and individuals who have unfortunately gone through very difficult times at the hand of gambling. I first contacted GAMFAM in January 2022 and I have been overwhelmed with the support and info which gets provided. You can learn more about GAMFAM below.

I didn’t want to get into every detail too much but I think it’ll be good to share some of my story and why I have chosen GAMFAM as the charity to raise funds for.

I first openly admitted to being a gambling addict around 3 years ago now in 2019. I probably should’ve done it sooner, but I was probably embarrassed to do so, with the stigma which surrounds addiction etc. But, after doing so, I felt so relieved and then could start to try and find ways to help me stop. Unfortunately even knowing I am an addict it hasn’t been plain sailing for 3 years. Addiction is a terrible thing, something I didn’t ever want to happen to me and wouldn’t wish it upon any one else. Unfortunately, I have allowed my addiction to take over at times, in order to fulfil my want to gamble I have relapsed many times, leading to lying to people who are closest to me, being deceitful, prioritising gambling over many much important things, like my health, relationships, socialising just to name a few.

It may seem like waffling, but this is just a brief description of the destruction gambling can cause. I can happily say I have put many steps in place now to give myself a much better chance to not relapse again. But, for many people, support networks of people may not be there, information may be hard to come by. That’s why I’m raising funds for GAMFAM. A charity who cares about the recovery of compulsive gamblers, a charity setup by a father of a compulsive gambler, someone who completely understands what this is all about. I want to help them to be able to continue to help and support others who have or will go through similar situations. This is a real addiction, a real problem. Unfortunately it can lead to people committing suicide, with the suicide rates relating to gambling being 4-11% in the UK. Which is equivalent to 250-650 deaths per year in the UK.

So, Please please donate anything at all if you can, from 1 penny upwards! Any donation will be very very appreciated and I will be extremely grateful.

On a side note, I haven’t run in any event before so this will be a massive challenge the funds raised will be well worth it. 

Race is on 11th Sep in Newcastle if anyone fancy’s a trip to come and support.

Thanks for reading,

Love Jack x