Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am running the Manchester Marathon on the 27th of April 2025 to raise money for Spectrum Gaming (SG). SG is an autistic-led charity on a mission to create a world where every autistic child can reach their true potential! They provide safe and inclusive online and in-person spaces for young autistic people (ages 10- 17) to connect. Many of the young people in the SG community have spent years having their needs misunderstood, and being made to attend unsuitable school environments. The stresses of being in these unsuitable environments and feeling so different to their peers causes struggles with mental health, isolation from others, suicidal thoughts and autistic burnout.

SG supports these young people to build the strength and confidence to find their place in the world that works for them, through helping them to make their first friendships, socialise, learn key life skills, find community, experience a sense of achievement and recover from negative experiences.

They also work on advocacy projects, as they understand the impact of their work would be limited if they did not also focus on making the world a better place for autistic young people outside of their time with them, and provide training for parents, carers and professionals to help them to better understand autistic young people.

It is very important to me to help make a positive difference to the lives of autistic people and their families. From personal experience I know that life unfortunately can be much more challenging for autistic people than it should be. I want to raise vital funds for SG to help them achieve their wonderful aims.

I started running a few years ago by doing the Couch to 5K. I did this to improve my fitness and mental health – life can sometimes throw you a curveball. In 2023 I ran my first full marathon in Edinburgh. Since then I have run two more marathons. With amazing support each time I have raised money for wonderful charities. Running and raising money for charities has helped me set positive goals in my life and gives me an enormous sense of achievement.

This incredibly will be my 4th marathon and I am absolutely delighted to be running in Manchester, where SG began, to raise money for them. By donating to my fundraiser, you'll make a real difference in helping SG to keep on working towards their goal of making the world a better place for autistic young people!

Many thanks.

Debbie

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.