After winning a place in the 2018 London Marathon, John decided to use the opportunity to raise money for Beam. He not only completed the formidable race but managed to raise a fantastic £1,700 in the process, making a vital contribution towards getting Beam's members trained and into work.
Here's how it happened in his own words:
How did you hear about Beam?
I first heard about Beam after watching a news article online which was discussing the ways in which homelessness could be tackled in the city. As part of the piece they discussed a new crowdfunding platform at Beam in which you could donate to specific homeless individuals to help with their employment training. They interviewed a member at Beam who had successfully completed training and was in employment. To see a tangible positive result to an individual’s life from simply donating was an inspiring thing.
Why did you want to help?
Having successfully won a place in the 2017 London marathon ballot, at the first time of trying, I decided I wanted to raise some money for a worthy cause for what was a once in a lifetime event. The following day, upon walking to work in the city and noticing a number of homeless individuals, I recalled the news article I had seen a few months previously on Beam and decided I wanted to support this great idea and help make a difference to an individual’s life.
What can you tell us about your experience?
I was grateful for the opportunity to visit Beam offices prior to running the marathon, and meet with some of the great team there to learn more about what they do. This, together with keeping up to date with member’s stories, gave me that extra bit of motivation on the day to push through the difficult moments on the race day knowing I was contributing to a great set of people. It turned out to be the hottest London marathon on record but I successfully completed it in 4 hrs 51 minutes and raised £1,700 to be be split across the members at Beam. It was altogether an experience I will never forget and I’m already considering a new fundraising challenge!
If you want to run your own fundraiser to help Beam's members get trained up and into work please don't hesitate to get in touch.
