CHARITY
Help us to make this event a huge success!
Rotary’s motto is Service Before Self. To me this means involving ourselves in our community, giving more of our time than our money. But we certainly need your help!
This is the fifth time we have run this event. Since last year, we have been running it in partnership with Women’s Running Network, with Pauline Beare as Race Director. She will take responsibility for everything to do with the Races, allowing our Rotary Club to concentrate on raising money for charity. We are delighted with the way that this co-operation has made for a bigger and better event.
We rely heavily on the companies, such as the Herald Express, that sponsor this event, enabling us to give more money to our chosen charities. We rely upon the runners to enter and make this a worthwhile event. We rely upon other Rotary Clubs, the Police and many members of the general public to help with marshalling, water and sponging stations.
And the event gets more successful each year. Last June, nearly 900 runners joined in. We also hosted the Devon County Marathon Championships for the third time.
It is also a financial success with, in three years, over £38,000 raised for our charities and a further £12,000 raised by runners for their own causes.
So please give us your support by running in one of our races, sponsoring someone who is running or volunteering to help. We will be delighted to hear from you and to see you at Newton Abbot Racecourse on the morning of Sunday 21 October.
Please ring Jeffrey Brown on 01803 872388 if you want to get involved in any way.
If you live locally and would like to know more about Rotary, please ring me on 01616 330510.
The main Charity we are supporting in this event this year is Macmillan Cancer Support. Please click on this link to find out more.
Alan Baker
President
Dartmoor Vale Rotary Club
Calvin Lovelock at the Macmillan Cancer Research office in Paignton
The races are not just for budding or seasoned athletes — they are also about charity. As in previous years all those taking part have the opportunity to raise money for people in South Devon who need it. And as the countdown to the Dartmoor Vale Races 2007 starts, we take a look at what the beneficiaries are all about.
Runners who take part this year can help raise money for the principal charity Macmillan Cancer Support, and some runners will also be fundraising for the Herald Express Help A Teenager Appeal.
Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of local people affected by cancer. The charity provides practical, medical, emotional and financial support and pushes for better cancer care. Not only that, but it offers practical support, like respite care to carers and lifts to hospital, and it funds nurses and other specialist health care professionals and builds cancer care centres. Calvin Lovelock is the cancer support charity’s Devon fund-raising manager.
He said the race organisers have agreed with Macmillan every penny donated to the charity will be spent on supporting people living with cancer in South Devon and Newton Abbot .
He said: “Thanks to the generous support and hard work of local people, Macmillan has been able to provide the initial funding for many new local cancer care services.
“Local people already benefit from 20 Macmillan professionals who work in the hospitals and the community: nurses, doctors and therapists. Macmillan’s grants service provides approaching £40,000 each year to local people whose disease has created financial hardship. Macmillan also contributed £40,000 to help create The Lodge cancer support and information centre in Old Newton Road — a drop-in centre for cancer care and support in the best possible environment. Good news for local people is Macmillan has recently agreed to fund two more cancer professionals —information specialists who will be based at The Lodge cancer support centre – and will provide cancer information and advice to people affected by cancer and the public.”
Calvin ran in last year’s 10k road race and knows how great the feeling is when crossing the finishing line. He declared: “Last year’s event was one of the best organised of its kind I have ever taken part in. Whether participants ran, jogged or walked I think we all enjoyed the buzz and the support from the crowds, stewards and water stations was fantastic. 2
I am so grateful to the Dartmoor Vale Rotary Club and Women’s Running Network for their hard work in organising this event and choosing Macmillan to be the official charity of this year’s races. Macmillan is entirely dependent on voluntary support and yet, due to public goodwill, the charity’s range of local cancer care services, available free of charge and from the point of diagnosis, has significantly increased in recent years.
Major community events like the Dartmoor Vale Marathon provide a wonderful boost to all we are trying to achieve for local people affected by cancer and their families and carers.
“For some youngsters, taking part in an event like this could lead to the development of a special interest in athletics, but for everyone it will at least provide an introduction to the joys of running and a healthy lifestyle. I would encourage as many people as possible to join me and the Green Team of Macmillan runners and help raise vital funds for local people affected by cancer who are facing some pretty tough challenges
of their own. Let’s ensure every step we take in training and on the big day counts for them.”
For a free ‘Team Macmillan’ running vest, contact 01803 528004.
Fifty places in the race are also being given to Team Herald runners to raise money for the HAT Appeal which was launched by the paper in 2005 to mark our 80th anniversary. It aims to raise £80,000 to equip a ward for teenagers at the hospital and make it one of the most up-to-date of its kind in the country. It has already surpassed the £40,000 mark.
Herald Express editor Andy Phelan said: “The beauty of the Dartmoor Vale races is that there is something for all abilities, whether you are a seasoned marathon runner or are new to running. “Those who decide to take the plunge will also be raising money for a very worthwhile cause. The money raised through the HAT Appeal is already making a difference. I would urge everyone to get involved on what promises to be a great occasion.”
(This article and the photograph have been reproduced by kind permission of the Herald Express.)
The Macmillan Cancer Support web site can be found at http://www.macmillan.org.uk/