Let’s face it: a third national lockdown wasn’t exactly the best start to the New Year. So, to help beat the (extreme) January blues, many of our brilliant supporters decided to brave the wintry weather and lace up their running shoes, for a socially distanced marathon challenge in aid of Phone Credit for Refugees. The goal? To run 26.2 miles throughout the month, to help raise money that the fantastic admin team could convert into phone credit. So, how did #TeamPC4R get on? We caught up with Running with Refugees event organiser, Emma Manton, to find out…
Up and running
Emma set up Running with Refugees – a month-long virtual marathon challenge – back in 2017 to raise money for refugee charities and, for the second year running, she has chosen to support PC4R – something we’re utterly delighted about! So, how did we do?
‘This year, Running with Refugees raised just over £4,000 from 206 participants,’ says Emma. ‘People took place all over the world, including the USA and Canada, India, Australia and all over Europe. It was so successful that I had to do a second order of medals!’
And that’s just the money raised through the event’s entry fee – many of you also did additional fundraising, which is amazing!
Running through lockdown
Many people have experienced loneliness and isolation due to lockdown this year, which Emma believes has helped build a greater sense of understanding for those who rely on PC4R for connection and communication.
‘I think the lockdown experience this year has given us a visceral experience of feeling isolated from our support networks,’ she says. ‘We’ve relied on our digital connections more than ever and it only takes a tiny leap of imagination to visualise life without access to our phones. PC4R is such a simple idea and is so easy to understand – we give money and it means that someone can call their family. This year, that’s felt like a huge gift.
‘Personally, I really needed the physical challenge to get me through January! Making myself accountable to the challenge got me out of the door on more than one cold, rainy morning, and hopefully the challenge has helped people create a positive habit that may stick.’
From Emma, and everyone at PC4R, we’re so thankful to every single one of you who has signed up and supported the challenge this year – you’re all marathon heroes!
The PC4R team
To find out more about Running with Refugees, check out runningwithrefugees.com