Joanne Lee and her daughter Alice are taking part in the 2022 London Marathon
Joanne and Alice will take part in the London Marathon this year to raise funds for WellChild as organisers allow assisted wheelchairs to take part in the event for the first time.
Joanne Lee and her daughter Alice from Derbyshire will be raising money for seriously ill children in the UK when they take part in the London Marathon for WellChild, on Sunday October 2nd as Joanne runs while pushing daughter Alice, 21, in her wheelchair.
Alice has a genetic condition and is a full-time wheelchair user. Joanne is a member of the WellChild Family Tree peer to peer support network which allows families with complex needs children to share support and advice with one another. She loves the support of the group which is why she decided to run for WellChild. Her efforts will allow WellChild to carry on its work to support seriously ill children and their families throughout the UK.
This year is the first time the London Marathon has allowed assisted wheelchairs to take part in the event and Joanne was only informed she could take part with Alice five weeks ago. Though this is a very short time for training Joanne has completed a marathon before and regularly runs half marathons so she is confident she is up to the challenge.
“There are hundreds of thousands of children in the UK living with long-standing illness or disability. By running the London Marathon this year in aid of WellChild, I hope to help the charity to improve the lives of as many seriously ill children as possible.
“We chose to run to raise funds for WellChild as it has been a charity which we as a family have benefited from. Their support especially throughout the Covid 19 pandemic whilst we were shielding was invaluable when support from everywhere else stopped. Living with a child with a life limiting condition can be difficult but WellChild make it possible. Alice absolutely loves it when we run together and is very much included as part of the running community.”
WellChild Chief Executive Matt James was delighted that Joanne and Alice have decided to support WellChild.
“It’s great that Joanne is prepared to run the 2022 London Marathon with Alice to help us. For many of the children, young people and families we support, just getting through the day is a huge challenge. On their behalf I thank Joanne and Alice for their support. It is a tough time for all charities, with the COVID pandemic and then the cost of living crisis putting a great strain on our fundraising. When the COVID-19 crisis took hold, we lost 60 per cent of our forecasted income. At the same time, the families we support have been placed under more pressure than any of us can imagine, many of them face ongoing challenges.”
