Why I’m Racing for Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice

I’ve never been a runner. During athletics when I was at school I was always a sprinter, but long distance running has never been for me. However, back in April this year I went to watch the runners at the Brighton Marathon, and stood at the finish line as thousands of people came through. From looking at everyone’s vests, I saw all the worthy causes people were running for, special notes about their family, and groups of people who were supporting them.

That’s the point I realised I wanted to do my bit too, so I signed up for the Brighton Half in February 2016. When I started running I couldn’t even run 5k, and within four months of training I had completed my first 12k. I’m currently struggling to get over the 15k mark!

At RH Uncovered, we all like to do our bit for charity too. Matthew Arnold, the Managing Director, and Emma Stevenson, the Community Project Manager, did an abseil for charity earlier this year, and so I decided to run for a local children’s hospice.

Chestnut Tree House is the only children’s hospice in East and West Sussex, and cares for 300 children and young adults form 0-19.

Children who go to the hospice have life-limiting conditions, and the charity offers support for the whole family.

Janet Parsons from Chestnut Tree House told us: “Families are never charged for the care they receive.

“With less than 8% of our funding coming from central government, we rely almost entirely on our local community and events like the Brighton Half Marathon to raise the £3 million we need each year to provide this care.

“We are so grateful to all of our runners – their support means a great deal to all of us at Chestnut Tree House.”

If you’d like to donate money for Chestnut Tree House and support my sister, Leanne Packham, and I in our race, please head here: www.justgiving.com/Amy-Leanne-Packham.

To find out more about running for Chestnut Tree House please visit www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/run or contact the Events Team on 01903 706355. Email events@chestnut-tree-house.org.uk