OK folks… it’s been a long time since I asked, so dig deep!
Last year, one of the lecturers at Abingdon and Witney College was involved in a terrible road incident while cycling to work. He received incredible treatment, and despite being in a critical condition, he pulled through and is slowly recovering. Three organisations were pivotal to this – the South Central Ambulance Service, Thames Valley Air Ambulance, and the John Radcliffe Hospital.
Every year, the students of the College’s Public Service courses (these are students who are mainly preparing for a career in the health, military and police services) organise a sponsored walk in aid of charities of their choice. (You can see where this is going.)
Organising an event of this scale is no mean feat. Routes have to be planned and signage produced. Marshalls recruited and in place. First aid and toilet facilities paid for and arranged. Refreshments need producing and delivering. Fundraising platforms need creating. And so on. It’s a GREAT training for them in its own right.
This year, they have decided to raise funds for the TV Air Ambulance and JR Hospital. Surprise, surprise!
Many of these young people have had hassles of their own in getting to 17/18 years of age. I won’t spell that out, but they are generally more worldy-wise than your average school-kid… Despite this their commitment to helping others is outstanding.
On Friday next week, a large number of them will be walking a half-marathon from Oxford to their respective campus. And accompanying them will be a small number of their lecturers… oh dear… yes, I will be trying to keep up with a small cohort of 20 of them.
There’s a bit of friendly rivalry, which will come out in the wash, but the Abingdon contingent are focused on raising funds for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance.
So, enough of this pre-amble… here’s the link – £20 would be great (£5 is absolutely fine) and, if you have a company charity account that isn’t yet spent a couple of grand would be even better! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
