Charity feature: Judy Foote is a Charity Ambassadors for the Brighton Half Marathon - Sunday, February 16, 2014
Judy Foote from Bromley, Kent, speaks on behalf of WaterAid and shares her reasons for supporting the charity and running the Brighton Half Marathon. There are four Charity Ambassadors representing the four largest charity teams at the 2014 race on 16th February, including Judy Foote for WaterAid, Luisa Gretton for RISE, Aoife McCauley for Scope and Danny Dwyer for The Sussex Beacon.
The Charity Ambassadors are supported with practical advice and receive sports products from Brighton Half Marathon and its partners, including ASICS, Runners Need, Lucozade and Studio57.
Judy said: “Quite simply, I am running for WaterAid because their work saves lives and changes lives for the better, amongst those people and communities who are in greatest need of support. I just have to think of the 2,000 children who die every day simply because they do not have access to safe water... that is reason enough to run.”
“I am a mum, I cast my mind back to when my daughter was small, how I would have felt if I had to chose between not giving her water or giving her dirty water which I knew could kill her? Now that she is a teenager I think, how would I feel if she could not go to school when she has her period because there were no toilets? I think, how would I manage to earn a living if I had to spend 4 hours of my day walking to fetch water? These thoughts are horrific to me, but to millions of women they are a daily fact of life.”
After having got involved with WaterAid through her work Judy started working with WaterAid on a regular basis and visited Ghana in 2012, witnessing first hand the difference their work makes. This encouraged Judy to not only train as a WaterAid speaker but also to put on her running shoes and actively raise money for the charity.
“There are so many sad stories, yet WaterAid gives hope, opportunity and health - communities and families can start to flourish” Judy added. “One of the most important factors is that people are given ownership and responsibility and through this WaterAid solutions stand the test of time.”
WaterAid figures show that 2.5 bn people do not have access to adequate sanitation and 768 million people do not have access to safe water.
Judy has been running for over 30 years and is passionate about getting women of all ages taking part in races and raising money for charity.
Anyone wishing to support Judy can donate by visiting justgiving.com/judy-foote1
Further details about WaterAid can be found on www.wateraid.org/uk
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The Brighton Half Marathon is organised by and the main fundraising event for The Sussex Beacon, a care centre in Brighton supporting men, women and families affected by HIV.
Entry to the Brighton Half Marathon on Sunday 16th February is now closed. The race starts at 9:00 am on Madeira Drive at Brighton seafront.
www.brightonhalfmarathon.com
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Twitter @BrightonHalf
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