Dr. Neil (Doug) Munro was due to run the London marathon in April 2020 to raise money for Citizens Advice Craven and Harrogate, when it was suspended due to COVID-19. Determined to still raise funds for this vital local charity, Doug has decided to instead run his own ‘Stray marathon’ on the morning of Sunday 11 October, running a 2 mile circuit 13 times around the famous parkland.
Doug said:
I have been working as a volunteer at Citizens Advice since 2015 and have become aware of the important work being done to support people in our community. Citizens Advice Craven and Harrogate is an independent charity and relies on donations to be able to continue to help people who often have serious difficulties.
CEO of Citizens Advice Craven and Harrogate Districts, Edward Pickering said:
The suspension of fundraising and sponsored events, like the London marathon, has hit the finances of local charities like ours hard. It’s great that local people like Doug are coming up with innovative ways to still help us raise money, which in turn allow us to help more people to navigate changes to individual circumstances, and those changing rules and regulations as a response to COVID-19.
In the six months since lockdown was announced, CACHD have advised over 1,500 people on over 4,500 different issues, including what support and benefits they are entitled to claim, people’s rights in the workplace, changing rules around the furlough scheme and redundancy entitlements.
You can donate to CACHD via Doug’s Just Giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/doug-munro17
