I have decided to walk a half marathon along the river Thames to raise vital funds for Child Poverty Action Group.

CPAG is the UK's leading charity working to prevent child poverty. There are 4.5 million children in the UK living in poverty.

Now, a rare opportunity lies ahead: the government’s forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy, the first active strategy in over ten years. CPAG has worked hard to get it this far. But what happens next depends on whether the government backs the policies that will actually make a difference.

CPAG knows what works. These are three of the most urgent changes your support will help fight for:

- An end to the two-child limit. This one policy is pushing thousands of children into poverty. It’s one of the most damaging cuts of the past decade, and it has to go.

- An increase to child benefit. A simple, proven way to give families more security and help cover essential costs.

- Scrapping the benefit cap. This punishes families regardless of need. It’s one of the clearest examples of policy failing children.

Changes like these could lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, giving them the chance to thrive. But unless action is taken now, they might be left out entirely.

In the weeks ahead, CPAG will be using every opportunity – in Parliament, at party conferences, in the media – to make sure these policies are on the table. Your support will help power that work.

A strong Child Poverty Strategy could mean real change for millions of children.

Please sponsor as generously as you can. Every donation makes a big difference.

Many thanks for your support.

Catharine