give to charity. Having not only lost a dad but a best friend, in her grief Dorothy made a pact with her dad: “When I die, live your life, enjoy it and look after yourself. I have lived my life and watched my family grow, so don’t be depressed or sad”. So Dorothy kept her promise.
ANYONE CAN DO IT A
fter losing her dad to heart disease in 2008, Dorothy Umukoro encourages others to run and
She decided to start a power walk and
jogging group with just three people – now she has around 20. “The people that came along couldn’t even walk far, let alone jog,” says Dorothy. “Now they can all walk or jog 5 or 10k!” The group, aptly named Dorothy’s Crew wanted to give her money for her time, however Dorothy refused and suggested they enter charity runs. This year they have chosen to raise
money for the British Heart Foundation as it’s a charity dear to Dorothy’s heart, and because one of the group’s children has heart disease. Little Evie is in and out of hospital with her heart problem. “Evie sometimes joins the running group and
she helps keep us strong,” says Dorothy. Dorothy’s Crew ran in the BHF’s
Regent’s Park Jog in March and have raised so far a very impressive £1,500 for the charity. “We think the British Heart Foundation is a brilliant charity and the London Jogs are free, they just ask you to raise sponsorship,” enthused Dorothy. “It was such a great event and the volunteers and staff were fantastic. Seeing the whole crew cross the line was amazing. If you like running I urge you all
London 10,000 on Monday 30th May and the British 10k London Run on Sunday 10th July. Both 10k London road races are great events to take part in and have helped to raise funds and awareness for lots of charity causes! St Christopher’s has places for both of these races which is good news if you are looking for a place and would like to help a cause! St Christopher’s Hospice, founded in
1967 by Dame Cicely Saunders as the first modern hospice, combines care,
GO ACTIVE 10K RACES T
here are many races across the UK, but some favourites always sell out – amongst these are the Bupa
to take part in a BHF jog and help them fight heart disease. Many people assume that heart problems only affect the elderly, we need to wake up as heart disease can affect all ages.”
■ The British Heart Foundation’s London Jogs series takes place once a month between March and August. They are free to enter and are all about raising sponsorship. To find out more go to
bhf.org.uk/londonjogs
education and research to provide skilled and compassionate support to terminally ill people approaching the end of their lives. Every year St Christopher’s cares for around 2,000 dying people, with a further 850 patients cared for in their own homes across the south London boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. With costs of £14 million each year and with less than one third provided by the NHS, this leaves £9 million that must be fundraised to ensure that these free services for dying patients and their families can continue to be provided. Running events such as these play a
huge part in helping towards raising the funds we so desperately need and our dedicated Go Active! team of supporters play a key part in helping too! We are so grateful for the dedicated support received from all of our Go Active! team and in return we offer our support towards any training and fundraising, which includes our Go Active! evenings here at the hospice, with talks from
72 ■ RUNNING FREE
industry experts and a chance to meet likeminded individuals who also want to help a charitable cause through their love of running. ■ With guaranteed places for both of these fantastic London road races, please join our Go Active! running team. Contact Liz Sowden on 020 8768 4575 or email
e.sowden@
stchristophers.org.uk
Follow ‘St Christopher’s Official Fundraising Page’ at ‘stchfundraising’ on Twitter. Click on the ‘like’ button to keep up with our news!
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