Stefan’s London Landmarks Fundraiser
Why did you choose to run for It's Time?
I lost my dad to cancer when I was 14 back in 2005 and not a day goes by where I don’t think about him.
When I heard about It’s Time through a close friend, I was so pleased to hear that there was a charity out there to support young people who have had similar experiences to me.
I was lucky to have a strong support network around me when I lost dad, but I know that unfortunately some people do not. Fundraising for a charity who can be there for those people, seemed like a no brainer.
What did you find the most challenging?
I have always found motivation difficult so fitting in 3 runs a week to train was a challenge at times. I think having the donations behind me made me feel like I couldn’t let all those people down who had been so generous.
I had also set myself a personal target to complete the run in under 2 hours, so my competitive streak helped me keep going to smash this!
What was the best bit?
Race day.
People lining the streets of London really is the biggest motivation and makes all of those lonely winter training runs worth every mile!
It really does give you the most amazing lift when strangers in the crowd call out your name and cheer you on. There is no way I would have achieved the time I did without the support. Crossing the line knowing that I had completed everything I had set out to achieve was amazing and very emotional.
Did you do anything different to help you fundraise?
I did the usual spreading my Just Giving page around social media as a starting point and put the link in all the WhatsApp groups.
Around a third of my total came from an organised football tournament. I play 5 a side regularly anyway so already had a pool of players to start with. I then branched out to other friends by creating a WhatsApp group for people to put their names down. I told people to pay a minimum of £5 to play but many put in more (even the lads who couldn’t play still donated!). Once I had 20 players committed, I booked a pitch at my local ‘Goals’ (who kindly gave me 50% off when they knew the cause) and did a Champions League style draw for the teams! Everyone had a great time and wanted to do it again.
I put posters up around work (staff room, by the printer etc.) with a QR code that linked directly to my Just Giving page as well as a tin on the table for anyone who wanted to donate cash. I took some brownies into work and left them in the staff room with an ‘honesty box’ for people to donate.
Mum nagging all of her friends was pretty handy too!
Do you have any advice for anyone setting out on a fundraising journey?
Don’t be afraid to ask people for help. When someone knows that you are raising money for charity, they will often help out in any way they can.
My partner made posters with QR codes, baked brownies and kept score at our football tournament!
Reaching out to the venue for the football tournament got me a discount on the pitch hire and these things made a big difference to the final total but you just need to pluck up the courage to call in some favours.
Finally, enjoy the process!