Greg Hands MP is supporting the Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank in its latest fundraising effort. A volunteer for the foodbank is hoping to raise £5,000 by running the Great Wall of China Marathon, and Greg is calling on local residents to support his sponsorship drive.
George Bodkin, who is the son of one of the foodbank volunteers, and who grew up in the area and now lives in Singapore, will run the Marathon on Saturday 17th May. Amazingly, the marathon covers not just the usual 26.2 miles, but takes place in soaring temperatures and has 5,164 ‘man-size’ steps thrown in.
George Said: “I am running on 17th May - and I have decided to support the Hammersmith and Fulham Foodbank because it does unglamorous, but vital work, in the part of west London where I lived before I moved to Singapore, and because my family supports it as volunteers."
He added “If the Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the eighth must surely be that I ever agreed to run a marathon along it. Apparently it's not unusual for participants to crawl on all fours for certain uphill sections - anyway........ I am going to need a lot of motivation to get over the line.”
Greg Hands said: “I wish George the very best of luck in this challenge. I have supported the foodbank since it’s opening in early 2010 and have visited to help out several times since. I would encourage anyone who is able to do so, to support this noble and worthy charity.”
H&F Foodbank is an independent charity providing nutritionally balanced grocery parcels to people in difficulty. About a third of the recipients are children. Last year HFFB gave enough food to prepare up to 10 meals for 4,180 people, equivalent to 42,000 meals. HFFB relies on unpaid volunteers. Money is needed to pay for food, its storage and transportation. HFFB is part of Trussell Trust, you can follow them on twitter at @hffoodbank.
People wishing to sponsor George in his marathon run can do so via JustGiving here: www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/george-bodkin. You can continue to sponsor even after the 17th May. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and 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.