Our Governance Manager, Mark Brennan, bravely took on the challenge of the Manchester Half Marathon on Sunday, 20 May 2018 in support of a very worthy charity, namely The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Mark spent weeks leading up to the event training very hard for this challenge and completed the half marathon in a personal best time of 1 hour 46 minutes and 10 seconds – although his feet are suffering now!

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation was set up in 2007 following the brutal murder of Sophie Lancaster in a park in Bacup, Lancashire just because she dressed differently.

Since the charity was set up, it has grown massively and the team now work with the police authorities across the UK in training officers from very senior positions down to response level on hate crime awareness. The charity also delivers workshops nationally, together with the police, in schools to students to teach them about sub-cultures in their community and what to do if they become a victim of hate crime.

You can find out more about what the charity does by visiting their website at www.sophielancasterfoundation.com

So far Mark has raised £400 and is looking for more donations to get him to his £500 target. Whatever donation target Mark reaches, the Society will match this for the charity. Show your support by donating to such a wonderful cause by clicking the link: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/markbrennan1