OFFICIAL 2012 CHARITIES

We are pleased to announce the following 2012 official charities:

Half Marthon - Force, Hospiscare, Mark Marshal Youth Fund, YMCA

5k - EDP, ADAM STANSFIELD FOUNDATION

FAMILY FUN RUN - The West of England School and College for young people with little or no sight, Families For Children

See charitiy details below...

HALF MARATHON CHARITIES

Force is a Devon based charity committed to people whose lives are affected by cancer. Originally set up in 1987 to fund local cancer research, the Charity has expanded to serve the rapidly changing world of cancer services at a local level. Why local Simply because anyone diagnosed with cancer deserves the best possible treatment and professional support close to home.

In September 2004 FORCE opened a purpose built cancer support centre in the grounds of the RD&E Hospital. The Centre is open five days a week and offers a whole range of non-clinical cancer support services. Despite moving into supportive care, research remains a very important part of our work. FORCE funded research is now carried out by the Peninsula Medical School and the Charity has recently agree to fund two more studentships at a cost of £135,000 over three years. FORCE funded research is currently focussed on lung and ovarian cancers.

Apart from research and support for patients and their families, FORCE has helped fund a new generation of equipment. Anyone treated for cancer locally is likely to benefit from equipment provided by the Charity at a total cost of over £2 million.

None of the above would be possible without the huge amount of support we receive from local people. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers of the Great West Run for selecting FORCE as one of their chosen charities and to also thank our runners for helping to raise much needed funds to continue our work.

Click here to view Force website

"When your life changes, what Hospiscare does is help you find another part of you to cope. It's not about dying, it's about living..."

Hospiscare is the only local charity supporting patients with terminal illness in Exeter, mid and East Devon. We help the WHOLE family with specialist care and advice. We offer home-nursing, day care centres and complementary therapies to help patients make the most of precious time with their loved ones.

We are delighted to be one of the Great West Run 2011 charities. The money raised will enable us to make a real difference to families facing difficult times.

Click to view Hospiscare website

Mark Marshall was a young Police Community Support Officer in Exeter and a Rifleman in the Territorial Army. He was killed in Afghanistan in February 2010. His family, colleagues and friends have set up a fund in Mark’s memory. To reflect Mark’s work with young people, the new Fund is available to support local young people who wish to undertake a constructive leisure activity - such as an expedition, camping, sport, skills or music - but who cannot fund it from their own resources alone. Applications are invited from young people aged 10 to 25 who are resident in Exeter. We would like to thank the Great West Run 2012 organisers for choosing The Mark Marshall Youth Fund as one of their charities for this event.

Click here to view Website

Exeter YMCA is a local charity that is passionate about making a real difference to disadvantaged people in Exeter and the surrounding area, particularly young people.

Our Housing Project provides over 14,000 nights accommodation a year for homeless young people who have nowhere else to go. We believe that in most cases homelessness is a severe symptom, but not the root problem a young person faces. Behind every story of homelessness lies a host of further issues such as: abuse, mental health problems, drug or alcohol misuse and acute low self-esteem.

As well as a safe and secure place to call home, we provide uniquely tailored one-2-one support for each of our young people, helping them to overcome many of the traumatic problems from their past. We also support our young people in becoming fully independent and able to live positive and fulfilling lives. We find creative ways to do this that are moulded to our residents needs including: Courses on cooking, healthy lifestyles, managing a tenancy and budgeting and job clubs aimed at helping our young people to access education, training or paid employment and ultimately become financially independent.

We also run Our Job Club Project, helping over 100 people who are homeless, in supported housing or ex-offenders into meaningful education, employment or training every year.

Finally, our Prison Project works in all 3 Devon prisons, helping over 200 prisoners a year to have a better chance of not offending upon release.

Website: www.exeterymca.org.uk

5KM CHARITIES

EDP works with people across Devon and in Dorset who have, or are affected by, drug and alcohol problems. Established in 1984, we work both in the community and in prisons to open doors for people affected by substance misuse so they can improve their lives and those of their families and communities.

 

We are very excited at being one of the official sponsors for the Great West Run’s 5km event in 2012 and hope that we can use the opportunity to increase awareness of the work we do in your community.  If you would like more information please visit www.edp.org.uk or email Susie at susiewoodward@edp.org.uk.

The Adam Stansfield Foundation

http://adamstansfieldfoundation.com/

Details to follow

FUN RUN CHARITIES

The West of England School and College for young people with little or no sight (WESC) is a local registered charity in Exeter on Topsham Road and is the leading regional centre for the education, care and therapy of children and young people who are blind or visually impaired in the South of England.
 
WESC currently have 102 students; all of whom have sight loss and 98% of whom have additional complex needs, such as physical disabilities, learning disabilities, other sensory impairments, medical needs or life limiting degenerative conditions.

As well as providing  education, care and therapy the West of England School and College team provides independent living skills and mobility training which inspires each young person to be as active and independent as possible.
 
The WESC team work together to ensure the blind and visually impaired young people have the same opportunities as fully sighted young people, always focusing on their independence, confidence and life skills. The friendly, supportive environment encourages the students to thrive and achieve to their full potential.
We receive a fee for each student from his or her Local Education Authority, The Young People's Learning Agency or Social Services. This covers the cost of their core education, therapy, care and over heads  but does not cover the cost of many of the additional resources that we aim to provide to enhance the provision received by the young people here, such as sports equipment, talking computers, Braille books, specialist trikes to enable wheelchair users to join the school cycle club and school trips.
 
If you would like to support the blind and visually impaired learners at WESC please contact Caroline Burkie on 01392 454 334 or email cburkie@westengland.ac.uk
 
You can find out more information by visiting the website here

Families for Children (FFC) is a registered (1093131) and approved voluntary adoption agency and Charitable Trust. We operate across Devon, Dorset and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The main focus of our work is to find parents for children needing new adoptive families.

Adoption is a way of providing the security of a new family when it is not possible for a child to be brought up by his/her own parent(s). There are several thousand children in local authority care who are waiting for an adoptive family.

Families for Children is committed to providing adoption support to children and families. This support is available when, and for as long as, it is needed. This work is the main focus of our fundraising activities.

Families for Children is delighted to have the support of four well-known celebrities, Michael Caines MBE (Patron), Caroline Quentin (Patron), Judi Spiers (Vice Patron) and Mark Tyler (Vice Patron) - with both Michael and Mark being adopted through Families for Children.

For further details about the charity or to enquire about adopting with FFC please contact: Ally Colton, Fundraising & Publicity Co-ordinator, Families for Children, Southgate Court, Buckfast, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0EE. Telephone: 01364 645480 Main Office, 01364 645488 Fundraising Office.

Website: www.familiesforchildren.org.uk