I swore I would never do a running event. It hurts, it's cold and it's boring. However, this year I have agreed to run the Cambridge Half Marathon - it's a one time thing! Motivated in part by beating my wife Kate (in the race of course), but more so in raising vital funds for Wintercomfort.

The challenges I will face dragging my body around 13 miles of Cambridge are trivial in comparison to the prospect of being homeless. For that reason, I am asking for your support and your generosity to help the great work carried out by Wintercomfort. I have been a Trustee of the charity for the last two years and in that time learned so much about the challenges faced by people in our city.

Sadly, as the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect us all, the number of homeless people in Cambridge is at its highest for many years. Open every day of the year, they provide hot meals, showers, laundry facilities, clothing and healthcare for rough sleepers. They also provide an extensive range of specialist advice and support to empower people to achieve long-lasting, positive change in their lives. They help people to access housing and employment, offer counselling and therapy, support for people working to overcome addiction, education and training programmes, dedicated support for homeless women and a range of activities aimed at building self-confidence and social inclusion.

Your generosity will help them to continue their vital work to help to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable people within our, your, community.

Thank you so much for any donation you can spare!