I have chosen to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon with the founder of Renaissance Foundation, Sat Singh, to fundraise for their annual trip to the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

Renaissance Foundation is a specialist charity based in Tower Hamlets which aims to inspire and support disadvantaged young people facing barriers to education, work and fulfilment. In order to provide tailored support for the beneficiaries, they run a three-year outreach programme focused on the needs aspirations of each group designed to achieve three main outcomes which are strengthening their resilience, developing their soft skills and broadening their horizon of work. Through the course of the programme the young people become more confident in themselves, and develop hope and perseverance to pursue their aspirations.

A key highlight of the programme, is their annual trip to the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. Every year the charity takes a small group of young people who have dedicated themselves to the programme to Oslo to learn about the institution and the importance of peace. This unique experience is truly inspirational for the young people who attend and has been a truly life changing experiences for them. For many, its the first time they have been outside of the UK or on a plane.  Here is a video that one of the young leaders, Qasim, made about his trip and the impact it had on him:  https://youtu.be/ZImNOfV9yT8.  

I have supported this annual trip since its inception and I was lucky enough to attend the Nobel Peace Prize trip in 2014 with a group of young people from the charity. On this trip in particular we met some inspirational role models who spoke about overcoming challenges and pursuing their dreams, including Steven Tyler and Christiane Amanpour. This was also the year that Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize. Several of the young people were themselves the same age as Malala and I saw first hand the impact on the young people of seeing one of their peers win such a prestigious award. I therefore passionately support Renaissance Foundation's ambitions to take disadvantaged young people to the prize and would greatly appreciate any donations you could make to this brilliant cause!