Coleg Gwent champions good causes

Coleg Gwent champions good causes

The Newport Half Marathon is almost upon us, and Coleg Gwent are already in the lead with their support for good causes!

In addition to sponsoring St David’s Hospice’s upcoming 10k Pontypool run, Coleg Gwent has just announced its continued partnership with the charity and become an official sponsor for the Admiral Newport Half Marathon, taking place on 1 March 2020. This charity event is now a firm favourite in the city’s event calendar and 2020 looks set to be the biggest and best one yet, with over 2000 people taking part to raise much needed funds for a variety of charities.

St David’s Hospice was established in 1979 in by Heulwen Egerton MBE, a nurse tutor at Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital, as the ‘Gwent Hospice Project Group.’ When they first began their work, St David’s cared for six patients, but has now has grown to become the UK’s largest provider of hospice at home care, caring for over 3,200 patients and families every year, at a cost of over £7.9 million. Coleg Gwent’s support for fundraising events, such as the Pontypool 10k race and Newport Half Marathon, are vital for St. David’s Hospice’s ongoing work.

Christine Vorres, St David Hospice Fundraising said:

“The monies raised from hosting these events ensures we can continue with our work and the key to making events a fundraising success is the kindness of the local business community. As we are a charity we need all proceeds to be put to good use helping our patients – therefore we rely on sponsorship to help us cover the event costs. It’s the little extras like chip timing, medals and T-shirts that make the experience better for the runners, and our sponsors help us to provide them.”

Coleg Gwent has its own winning team running in the Admiral Newport Half Marathon in aid of the MS society, as a show of support and solidarity to a colleague who is living with the condition. The MS society has proved to be invaluable in supporting their co-worker so the team decided they would like to raise funds as a way of showing their appreciation. The team is made up of staff members from across various departments of Coleg Gwent, many of whom are running their first half marathon.

Jo Harris, Deputy Payroll Manager, said:

“When the challenge of a half marathon was first put to me I really wasn’t sure, 10K is an enjoyable distance for me. After speaking with my family, my 10 year old daughter Sophie encouraged me again and said “you can do this”, so here I am, running my first half marathon with the support of my fellow colleagues and for a very good charity. Training is going ok, I have managed 10 miles so far but I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy!”

We’re delighted to be to be supporting St David’s hospice with their fundraising events and are very much looking forward to seeing where this partnership takes us in the future. If you would like to support our brilliant team in the Admiral Newport Half Marathon and help them raise much needed funds for the MS Society, then please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/coleg-gwent – every contribution counts so whatever you feel you can give would be massively appreciated (or just turn up on the day and give them a cheer). And if you are participating / attending the event, best of luck – let us know how you get on and please do send us your photos; we’d love to see them!

For more information about the Admiral Newport Half Marathon, please visit http://cityofnewporthalfmarathon.com

For more information about the brilliant sports-related courses we have at Colg Gwent, please visit www.coleggwent.ac.uk/sport