Welcome to Charity Champions – our weekly-round up of some of the fantastic fundraising efforts taking place.
Every week we share stories of individual efforts and fundraising activities happening around the north and north-east.
This week, we’re showcasing the Mount Marathon, a community-centered marathon raising funds for Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).
There is also a Merchant Navy officer from the Black Isle who has completed 20 marathons – raising almost £12,000 for MS Society Scotland – in support of his mum who is living with the condition.
As well as a Deeside church has donated a generator to a Ukrainian care home near Kyiv after learning Russian missiles destroyed their electricity source.
Mount Marathon for mental health
Lauren Livingstone and Jack Sim, owners of Aberdeen’s Mount, have organised a marathon for mental health charity SAHM.
The pair wanted to fundraise for charity, but also do something that would push people out of their comfort zones and help the community.
After getting into running over the last year they realised just how beneficial it was for their own mental health – which led them to set up the running challenge.
The pair hold weekly training sessions from their cafe on Upperkirkgate and map out routes around the city, making sessions as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Miss Livingstone said: “The marathon is to raise money, but the training nights are really just to get people outside their comfort zone, a bit of fitness for them. Weekly runs with the team have just been amazing.
“I think as well, marathons can be quite daunting if you want to run but you’re not sure how to get into it, so that’s why we thought we’d do it as a team or a relay and make it as accessible as possible.
“It kind of tied in with the charity being for mental health, cos that’s kind of the whole aim from the training to the marathon – to promote the mental wellbeing of the people of Aberdeen.”
‘The more the merrier’
Since announcing the plans on Instagram, over 55 people have signed up for the marathon so far – but there’s still some spaces left.
Participants can either run the whole marathon by themselves, or they can break it down into two people completing a half, or a team of four running just over 10km each.
“I think the biggest thing is, it’s so accessible to anybody,” Mr Sim said.
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve run marathons before or if you’ve never run couch to 5k, it’s about people coming out their own comfort zone and pushing themselves to their own limits.
“Everybody is different, but there’s no pressure for anybody. It’s such an open space, and the more the merrier.”
The Mount Marathon is on August 27 and will start and finish in Seaton Park. On the day, there will be stalls and a hub for runners as well as their friends and family.
Tickets cost £5 with all proceeds going to SAMH.
To contribute to Mount’s JustGiving, visit the page here.
Merchant Navy chief officer completes 20 marathons
When Alan Rae crossed the finish line in Edinburgh last month, he had plenty reasons to celebrate.
The marathon is his 20th – and took him back to where the journey first began in 2016.
Mr Rae, from Tore, has raised more than £12,000 for MS Society Scotland in honour of his mum, who is living with primary progressive multiple sclerosis.
The chief officer of the Merchant Navy’s marathons have taken him to London, New York and Berlin.
The 27-year-old said: “I ran my first marathon in Edinburgh in 2016, and did it four years in a row before Covid hit. I’ve been lucky enough to have run at three of the six world majors but for my 20th I wanted to be back in Edinburgh where it all began, making this my fifth EMF.
“EMF is the best Scottish marathon and I always enjoy ending it with the celebrations at the MS Society finish pod – plus, there’s a massage.”
Mr Rae takes on the test of endurance to raise awareness of MS and raise funds to help find a “crucial cure” – or at least something to make life easier for those living with the condition.
He finished: “I’m grateful to everyone for their continued support. I can’t wait to raise more funds and awareness for MS Society.”
To contribute to Mr Rae’s JustGiving, visit his page here.
Banchory church shows Ukrainian care home residents they are not forgotten
Meanwhile, a Deeside church congregation has come together to help a care home near Kyiv.
Members of Banchory Ternan West Church worked to raise enough money for a generator for the home, which lost its electricity in Russian missile attacks.
The property in Ukraine’s Belotserkovsky district is home to 124 residents who are elderly or disabled.
With no electricity, all cooking and baking was being carried out on a wood-burning stove and oven located outside under a temporary shelter.
Church member Halyna Parusov, who is a member of Banchory Ternan West Church, quickly tried to find out what could be done.
Project manager Don Morrison said: “Seeing the generator in action and the first loaves coming out of the oven has been enormously gratifying.
“In the greater scheme of this tragic conflict, this is an insignificant achievement.
“But to the residents and staff of the home, it not only represents a major improvement in the quality of their lives, but gives them the reassurance that they will have power as they transition from summer back into a hard, cold winter.
“It also gives them comfort in the knowledge they are not forgotten.”
They hope to go on to purchase generators for five other affected institutions.
We’d love to include your event in a future Charity Champions – e-mail livenews@ajl.co.uk with the details.
Conversation