St Bede's College Run for Life - Heaton Park on Sunday 21st March 2010 10 a.m. Our 6th College Run for Life took place on Sunday 21st March. Over 300 Runner/Walkers took part - students, family, friends and staff not forgetting to mention the toddlers and canine friends. We all had an enjoyable morning and the weather was fantastic!

Thank you to everyone who took part, either as a runner/walker or just came along to cheer everyone along.

If you were unable to enter the Run for Life or did not sponsor an individual participant but you wish to take the opportunity of making a donation to the Run for Life event as a whole, you can do this through this site. Please add your full name and address, including postcode, so that we are able to acknowledge and thank you for your contribution. If you are a UK taxpayer you can gift aid your donation. which will cost you nothing. THE JUST GIVING SITE FOR "RUN FOR LIFE" WILL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL 30TH APRIL 2010.

Please read on about the charitable work the College, staff, students and families do to help children and families who desperately need help. All moneys raised will be shared between:

The Love of Christ Ministries (TLC) is specifically to meet the needs of abandoned and orphaned children in Africa who are innocent victims of extreme poverty, violent crime, homelessness, HIV/Aids and social turmoil in South Africa. At the moment the children sleep in large dormitories and the the dream of the TLC is to build a number of  bedrooms which would mean that the children could have "ownership" of sharing a room in pairs so that they can enjoy their own space and privacy. The monthly cost of providing nappies, baby food and medicines is in the region of £1500. Most of us, enjoy privileged lives in comparison to these young children. Over the years some of the College's Upper 6th leavers have either taken a gap year or used their summer holidays to go to TLC in Africa to help, support and work with the children and then came back to College to talk to the students about their experiences and fulfillment of visiting TLC.

  "The School under the Tree" in Awassa, Ethiopia. The school has at the moment over 150 children. Belay Bale, who runs the school,  and his helpers aim to educate children whose parents are very poor or who are orphans. Thanks to the generosity of supporters of this charity the children receive their first formal education. On arrival at the school under the tree the children are provided with breakfast, which for most of them, is their only meal of the day. Belay is also able to provide clean water as well as basic medicines and all this is free to the children thanks to the donations that the school receives. Hopefully in the future a "proper" school building will be able to be built so that the children can have a fixed learning place that they can call their own. Mr Loader, Head of Geology at St Bede's College, and his family have visited Awassa in Ethiopia on a number of occasions, each time taking with them basic educational materials and funds for renting the school. On a recent visit they took with them some old football strips donated by St Bede's Prep School, which the children wore with pride - the delight of the childrens' faces said it all.

This year we are also hoping to make a donation to assist and help all the tragic and unfortunate children and families  who have severely suffered from the recent earthquake in Haiti. With your valued and continued support we can make a difference to all our charities.

Thank you all for your continued support, we can make a difference, no matter how small.

 

Katherine Taylor

Event Organiser (for and on behalf of the Sixth Form Charities' Committee)

St Bede's College, Alexandra Park, Manchester, M16 8HX, United Kingdom.