Simon Clarke, CAF Good ‘Un 2017, is running again in the London Santa Run on December 3rd along with students from 2 schools in England as well as other Ecologia Youth Trust supporters.
Ecologia’s aim is to enable marginalised young people to realise their potential and to take an active role in promoting sustainable living all over the world so that they can improve their lives in the long term. Some of the projects we work with include International Peace Initiatives in Kenya where we are helping HIV affected mothers provide a better future for their families by training them in skills such as tailoring, and providing funding to run Kithoka Amani Community Home which cares for 30 orphaned children while allowing them to maintain close ties to their families and friends. Another more local project we support in Scotland is Growing2gether, where we help disengaged young people to develop confidence and self belief by mentoring small children.
Simon recently spent 15 months running around the coast of Britain, raising funds to enable Ecologia Youth Trust to support disadvantaged children in projects around the world. Simon set off in March 2016, and he completed the run just a few months ago on July 5th 2017 – his 58th birthday.When Simon set off from the Moray Firth on Easter Sunday, 2016, his aim was simple: to challenge himself to a journey of self-discovery and find out how he would cope with being pushed to the edge of his physical and mental endurance, while raising £20,000 to fund Ecologia’s work empowering youngsters to overcome their own challenging circumstances.
At the start he said: “If we can’t give all the children of the world the best start possible, we have to wonder what we’re doing here. It’s so difficult for children in materially poor countries to get to grips with education and achieve worthwhile change whilst being under nourished and shelterless. Giving – no doubt at times, grinding out – effort to benefit youngsters who have less fortuitous circumstances than mine seems the least I can do, and the thought of carrying and needing very little, while asking others to give a lot to improve the lives of children seems the best of affairs.”
For us, this year, #givingTuesday is a day to appreciate Simon’s incredible efforts and to encourage him in his upcoming Santa Run along with his fellow runners, who are all running in order to raise funds for disadvantaged children.
We would love to hear from anyone who would like to join us and Simon running in the Santa Run, or use #givingtuesday as an opportunity to help him raise more much needed funds!
(Photo courtesy The Northern Scot)
