Get set - the challenge!
A team of 18 from Metropolitan Police, Crown Prosecution Service and Hackney Council are running/cycling in non-stop relay from Hackney to the French Mediterranean coast. Why? To raise at least £30,000 for Skyway and Chance UK – charities supporting young people in Hackney – and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Hackney Town Hall is the start point on 18 September 2008, for the runners to leg it to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
The cyclists then pick up the baton for the haul to Montpellier on the south coast of France. That’s 1200km. And this will be completed in just 72 hours.
The charities!
Chance UK
Chance UK is an award-winning registered charity, one of only six organisations in the UK to be re-awarded GoldStar status by the Cabinet Office as an exemplar of good practice in mentoring and befriending. Chance UK works with primary school children in Hackney (and elsewhere in the UK) with behavioural difficulties who are at risk of developing anti-social or criminal offending behaviour in the future, and offers them one-to-one mentoring with a carefully screened, trained and supervised adult volunteer. Chance UK also offers support to the children’s parents and/or carers.
Skyway
SkyWay aims to address the personal support needs of disadvantaged young people, aged 10 to 25 years in Shoreditch and across Hackney; enabling them to achieve personal goals, realise their potential and contribute positively to their community. SkyWay supports young people to work towards playing a fuller role in their communities through giving them opportunities to develop their responsibilities as leaders and educators and mentors, through youth-led work in areas including confidence building, health and lifestyle, sport.
Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. We provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support and push for better cancer care. Macmillan exists to help improve the lives of people affected by cancer, both those living with cancer and also their families and carers. Its primary focus for 2010 is to reach and improve the lives of everyone living with cancer.
