On Sunday 5^th May, SERC Public Services will participate in the Belfast City Marathon as part of a team relay. The team consists of 5 runners and one substitute.

Another class member, Lucy Watterson will volunteer at the event, providing advice, guidance, direction and support to members of the public. In carrying out this role, Lucy will demonstrate skills required for the services.

The students are currently studying the Leadership and Teamwork in the Public Services unit. Participation in this event will allow them to meet assessed criteria as they will be completing a team activity with one student assigned as a leader who will brief and debrief the team.

The students are also studying the Volunteering in the Public Services unit. As part of completing this, students must carry out voluntary work. They are currently working towards Millennium Volunteers and have been busy, working alongside several voluntary organisations. This fundraising activity allows them to accrue hours towards this.

Physical fitness is required for all public services, with fitness tests for the roles commonly consisting of a timed run. The team will be putting themselves out of their comfort zones and have been training hard in preparation for this. You can follow their training journey by liking the Facebook Page- SERC Public Services. We hope current record holder, Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya is ready to defend his title against SERC Public Services!

The team have decided that their chosen charity is Action MS as several team members know someone with this condition. This charity provide support services for people living with MS along with their families and carers.

On behalf of the team, I would be very grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes and donate a small amount of money towards this worthwhile cause which the team care about. Your donation will go a long way in fighting this disease of the central nervous system for which there is as yet no cure. By donating you will also be supporting Team SERC Public Services who are representing the college at Northern Ireland's biggest sporting event whilst putting other people first.