South Wales man set to run London Marathon in support of poverty charity

A man from South Wales is running the London Marathon in support of poverty charity Turn2us. Huw Williams from Bedwas will run the marathon, which covers a 26 mile course across London, on Sunday, the 23rd of April. He chose to run for Turn2us after hearing about the millions of people that the poverty charity supports each year and the resources the charity provides to those working within the field of social welfare, and has raised over £1,000 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.

Huw, who works as a European Grant Finance Claims Support for the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action, decided to run the marathon in support of Turn2us as they have provided essential resources and information to Huw in his previous work as a Social Welfare Worker. After witnessing first-hand how welfare support transforms lives, it highlighted to Huw how important it was to support Turn2Us and raise money to allow the charity to continue their excellent work supporting the most vulnerable in society.

Explaining why he is running the marathon for Turn2us, Huw said: “I decided to run for Turn2us as the support they provide to those most vulnerable, and working tirelessly to help facilitate change in the lives of others, means there is a special attachment to what I am running for. Running the marathon gives others less fortunate the chance to move forward with their lives.”

Thanking Huw for running the marathon in support of Turn2us, Micky Forster, fundraising officer at the charity said: “We are so grateful to Huw 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.”

Huw has had his fair share of injuries over the last five years, including a serious back surgery in 2015, but 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 at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Huw-Williams30

You can find out more about the work of Turn2us at Turn2us.org.uk, where you can also access its welfare benefits calculator and its grants search tool.