An extraordinary 13 year old from the Yorkshire Dales is running a marathon to raise funds for a Salisbury charity.

Anna Harrison-Topham runs for North Yorkshire and regularly competes in sporting events – which have all come to a sudden halt due to the Coronavirus lockdown.   Rather than sit around feeling frustrated she set herself a new goal – to run a marathon for charity, achieved by embarking on two separate 7.5 mile runs and a further half marathon once lockdown ends.

After much research, which she did online by herself, she concluded that Alabaré would be the charity that she would like to support.

Anna was adamant that she should support Alabaré even though it is over 250 miles from where she lives, as she explained:  “As the Homeless are the most vulnerable to Covid -19 with nowhere to isolate, and no sanitation to wash their hands, no food and no hope.”

She also noticed that the charity was especially thinking about single people with mental health difficulties who might be the most excluded from life.

Anna’s mum Jo added: “I wondered about asking our friends, family and colleagues to donate to a charity that we did not personally know, and was not in Yorkshire, nor nationally recognised, but concluded that it could be justified as there are so many people who are homeless and in need, and they all need help wherever they are”

Alabaré which supports homeless and vulnerable people, has been hugely impacted by the cancellation of its entire fundraising programme for the next six months due to the Coronavirus outbreak which in turn has an enormous bearing on its services and those

people the charity supports. The people Alabaré supports are extremely vulnerable to Coronavirus, with 75% of the charity’s homeless clients having underlying health issues and many having no one else to turn to. 

The charity’s Emergency Appeal is hoping to raise £100,000, the amount they would have raised over the next six months.  Donations to the appeal directly support Alabaré’s teams on the front line, working tirelessly to support the homeless adults, young people, veterans, care leavers and young parents with babies in its homes. Since launching the Appeal on the 17th March, over £94,000 has now been raised.

Rebecca Mullen, Fundraising and Events Manager at Alabaré said: “Rough sleepers do not have the means to self-isolate. The vast majority are more susceptible to illness and many have complex underlying health problems so we must do what we can to continue to support these vulnerable people. Donations help us get homeless people into our homes where we can support them if they fall ill. They ensure every single resident has a safe home, food and medication in this time of urgent need and also provides essential support to vulnerable people coping with the mental challenges of this very difficult time.

“Our teams are working around the clock, making sure people who would otherwise be homeless have somewhere they can stay safe. These are unprecedented times but despite the huge challenges we face our whole staff team remain positive and full of hope that we will come through these times successfully and together save many lives.”

An extraordinary 13 year old from the Yorkshire Dales is running a marathon to raise funds for a Salisbury charity.

Anna Harrison-Topham runs for North Yorkshire and regularly competes in sporting events – which have all come to a sudden halt due to the Coronavirus lockdown.   Rather than sit around feeling frustrated she set herself a new goal – to run a marathon for charity, achieved by embarking on two separate 7.5 mile runs and a further half marathon once lockdown ends.

After much research, which she did online by herself, she concluded that Alabaré would be the charity that she would like to support.

Anna was adamant that she should support Alabaré even though it is over 250 miles from where she lives, as she explained:  “As the Homeless are the most vulnerable to Covid -19 with nowhere to isolate, and no sanitation to wash their hands, no food and no hope.”

She also noticed that the charity was especially thinking about single people with mental health difficulties who might be the most excluded from life.

Anna’s mum Jo added: “I wondered about asking our friends, family and colleagues to donate to a charity that we did not personally know, and was not in Yorkshire, nor nationally recognised, but concluded that it could be justified as there are so many people who are homeless and in need, and they all need help wherever they are”

Alabaré which supports homeless and vulnerable people, has been hugely impacted by the cancellation of its entire fundraising programme for the next six months due to the Coronavirus outbreak which in turn has an enormous bearing on its services and those

people the charity supports. The people Alabaré supports are extremely vulnerable to Coronavirus, with 75% of the charity’s homeless clients having underlying health issues and many having no one else to turn to. 

The charity’s Emergency Appeal is hoping to raise £100,000, the amount they would have raised over the next six months.  Donations to the appeal directly support Alabaré’s teams on the front line, working tirelessly to support the homeless adults, young people, veterans, care leavers and young parents with babies in its homes. Since launching the Appeal on the 17th March, over £94,000 has now been raised.

Rebecca Mullen, Fundraising and Events Manager at Alabaré said: “Rough sleepers do not have the means to self-isolate. The vast majority are more susceptible to illness and many have complex underlying health problems so we must do what we can to continue to support these vulnerable people. Donations help us get homeless people into our homes where we can support them if they fall ill. They ensure every single resident has a safe home, food and medication in this time of urgent need and also provides essential support to vulnerable people coping with the mental challenges of this very difficult time.

“Our teams are working around the clock, making sure people who would otherwise be homeless have somewhere they can stay safe. These are unprecedented times but despite the huge challenges we face our whole staff team remain positive and full of hope that we will come through these times successfully and together save many lives.”

For more information on how to support Anna and her fundraising for Alabaré in its Coronavirus Emergency Appeal, please visit – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Anna-Harrison-Topham4