[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ven in my youth (quite a while ago!) never, even in my wildest dreams, did I imagine that the highlight of my week would be the ParkRun on a Saturday morning (what! – getting up at 7.00 a.m. on a Saturday morning just to go running!!)
Yes I know what a lot of you are thinking but running (or jogging in my case as I don’t ‘do’ fast) is now a major part of my life. I found myself very down in the dumps a few years back and my sister cajoled me into joining her running along the cliff top in our home town of Bridlington. Also hubby Dave wanted to lose some weight and started doing the app on his phone called ‘Couch to 5K’. Of course I couldn’t let him do it on his own (I wanted to check he was actually doing it!) so off we went lumbering up the steep incline on the cliff top from Bridlington up to Sewerby. We met a fellow jogger who introduced us to the Park Run and the rest as we say is history. In turn we have introduced quite a few family members and friends and well over 100 people turn up each Saturday morning (although I’m sure the coffee, bacon sandwiches and weekly catch-ups in the Clocktower cafe afterwards helps!).
The Parkrun has motivated us to run the odd 5k, 10k and even the Great North Run (still can’t believe we did 13 miles!). Consequently, when Sara mentioned at our last team meeting in Hull the section ‘Run for Homes’ my ears pricked up. This is a chance to run whilst raising money for the homeless, a cause which I hold dear having worked for Chevin for the past 13+ years. I have specifically chosen Emmaus, Hull as it is a group of locally based volunteers working towards creating a community in Hull where up to 30 formerly homeless people will live and work on a range of social enterprise activities. Here in Hull Emmaus open, a bespoke residential called the Orchard. The volunteers need to raise considerable funds to get this on its way. The community is supported by a social enterprise (Emmaus Furniture Super Store) and plans for The Orchard include a café and retail space selling second-hand furniture and goods. Emmaus Hull is continuing to fundraise in order to make this community a reality. There are lots of people in the area who could benefit from their services and make a real difference to their lives. Chevin have a significant interest in the project having provided financial assistance and Monty (ably assisted by one of our team members in Hull) making a guest appearance at the burial of a time capsule on the land which is on the site of a disused railway station – Cannon Street.
Don’t forget – Hull has been awarded the title ‘City of Culture 2017’. Let’s celebrate and help the local people!
Please can you help and make a donation to support this very worthy cause by visiting my JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/Debbie-Duffill/
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.
Debbie’s Wakefield 10K page
I am running to increase awareness and raise funds for Emmaus because they offer homes and work to local people.