Lancashire woman set to run London Marathon in support of poverty charity

A woman from Lancashire is running the London Marathon in support of poverty charity Turn2us. Jacqui Ryan (Murray), a mother of one from Lytham St Annes, will run the Marathon, which covers a 26 mile course across London, on Sunday, the 23^rd of April. She chose to run for Turn2us after hearing about the millions of people that the poverty charity supports each year, and has already raised over £800 for the charity.

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.

Jacqui, who is originally from Scotland, works for her local borough council. She decided to run the Marathon in support of Turn2us as she 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 she is running the marathon for Turn2us, Jacqui said: “I love to keep active and running has been a big part of my life over the last 10 years, although I have never run a Marathon before. The prospect is both exciting and daunting.

“I'm delighted that I can use my running in such a positive manner running the London Marathon for Turn2us. It's a great way to raise funds and awareness for such an essential charity.

“Working for a borough council, I am acutely aware of the impact of government austerity measures on staff and the wider community. A vast number of low paid workers are suffering poverty. They are struggling to make their salary stretch to pay increasing private rental costs and energy bills. The reality for many low paid workers in the UK is they will not escape the poverty trap.

“Turn2us provides valuable advice to the most vulnerable people. I am delighted to help raise awareness of, and funds for, the good work they do.”

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

Jacqui 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 her on her Justgiving Jacqui Murray page

You can find out more about the work of Turn2us on our website, where you can also access its Benefits Calculator and Grants Search