Students support Action For Kids by running The New York City Marathon
Last updated 3/15/2010 4:11:44 PM
Students support Action For Kids charity by running The New York City Marathon
Students at Loughborough University are training for one of the world's biggest marathons to support children and young people with physical and learning disabilities.
The group will take part in The New York City Marathon on November 7th, to help raise funds for the national charity Action For Kids.
The charity helps disabled children, young people and their families lead more independent lives through the provision of specialist services. This includes training in independent living skills and work related learning, a family support service and a national help line.
It also provides disabled young people, up to the age of 26, with specialist mobility equipment, and an on-going maintenance programme to keep wheelchairs working.The equipment, which is provided on a permanent loan scheme, means that Action for Kids covers the cost of maintaining and servicing the wheelchairs on an ongoing basis, removing a major financial burden from families. The maintenance scheme has also recently been extended to cover privately-owned wheelchairs.
Sarah Greene, Events Fundraiser at Action for Kids, said: "It is fantastic to have the whole team of 16 running for us. They have all set themselves fundraising targets and hope to raise as much as £30,000 for the charity, which is brilliant. We are truly grateful to all the students taking part."
The New York City Marathon runs through all five boroughs of New York City, with 43,659 finishers in 2009. It's taken place every year since 1970 and attracts professional competitors and amateurs from all over the world. And because of the popularity of the race, participation is limited to 37,000 entrants chosen largely by a lottery system.
Take a closer look at Action For Kids - one of the many Optimist Charities