On Sunday 22nd September me and my nephew Jake are running the Ipswich Half Marathon again. Last year we ran it together and truthfully I wouldn’t have got through it without him. This year we are doing it again and hoping to raise as much money as we can for a charity which is close to our family. This charity is called 4YP which stands for ‘For Young People’. They work with 7-25 year olds at their Ipswich town centre hub, in schools and out in the community. They are here to provide a range of clinical and therapeutic services for young people who are struggling with their mental health, wellbeing or individual needs. At the Ipswich hub they provide a counselling service, youth work one to one, an open access drop in service, holiday programmes and youth groups. All of 4YP’s services are free to young people.

The reason why 4YP is very important to our family is because after the death of my brother in law, Clax, at the end of 2022 my niece, Hope, has had to carry on with life without her Dad and best friend. Since Hope has been going to 4YP she has been having counselling and has been going to their holiday clubs. She has been coming out of there with a smile on her face and is always talking about them. It’s so lovely to see her with a smile and to know she can talk to people about everything that’s on in her mind and how she is feeling. It’s also great to know that she gets to meet other young people who maybe going through similar things.

Me and Jake are going to smash this half marathon with Clax and Hope at the front of our minds. Let’s make them proud and I’ll definitely be having a Fosters at the end for them!