Finchley man set to run London Marathon in support of poverty charity

A man from Finchley is running the London Marathon in support of poverty charity Turn2us. Malcolm Milwood will run the Marathon, which covers a 26 mile course across London, on Sunday, the 23^rd of April. He chose to run for Turn2us after hearing about the millions of people that the poverty charity supports each year.

Turn2us helps people identify and access welfare benefits that they are entitled to, and grants that they are eligible for, as well as giving direct grants itself. With so many people in the UK struggling to make ends meet, rising numbers of people are seeking its help. Over 80,000 people called its helpline last year, while over 1.5 million welfare benefit calculations were undertaken on its website and it gave £3 million in grants in 2016.

Malcolm, works as an account manager at healthcare intelligence provider LaingBuisson, who have supported his run. He decided to run the Marathon for Turn2us as he is very concerned that so many people in the UK are often forced to choose between heating their homes and eating food, or who live in homes without cookers or curtains because they are unable to afford them.

Explaining why he is running the Marathon for Turn2us, Malcolm said: “Poverty can happen to anyone when you least expect it. When my Mum passed away ten years ago, we were stuck with financial worry and struggled making ends meet. Turn2us are always there to help, at the time when you really need it.”

Thanking Malcolm for running the marathon in support of Turn2us, Micky Forster, Fundraising Officer at the charity, said: “We are so grateful to Malcolm for running the marathon in support of the charity. He has put so much time and energy into training and fundraising, and then running the Marathon. The money that he raises will go far in helping us fight poverty.”

Malcolm has been training every week since the start of the year and feels ready to embark on this huge challenge.

You can make a donation to support him on Marathon Malcolm's Virgin Money Giving page

You can find out more about the work of Turn2us at Turn2us.org.uk, where you can also access its Benefits Calculator and its Grants Search.