Marathon March 2019 surpasses £75,000

The Marathon March 2019, powered by Utilita, has surpassed £75,000 thanks to the impressive fundraising efforts and generosity of Palace fans.

Having taken place for the third year running on October 12, this year’s event saw Eddie Izzard, Steve Parish, Andy Gray and Mark Bright take on the 26.2 mile walk alongside 130 Eagles fans.

Money raised from this year’s Marathon March will help to grow the Palace for Life Foundation early mental health intervention programme, Team Mates, which aims to encourage children at primary school to talk more openly about their feelings, focusing on social skills and positive psychology.

Healthy Lifestyles Officer Chase Hill, who leads Team Mates, explained: “The programme works in a group setting and runs throughout the school year. The children we work with might have had adverse childhood experiences, so witnesses of domestic violence, or have a family member in prison. It might be children with low confidence or low self-esteem, they might be suffering with anxiety issues, or have ADHD, basically any risk factors that suggest they could develop poor mental health later in life.”

Palace for Life Foundation Chief Executive Mike Summers, who walked the Marathon March, explained: “The reason we all took part in the Marathon March was to try and raise additional funds for our work, in particular for our Team Mates mental health programme. We’re very lucky to be supported by the Premier League and PFA, but we want to reach even more young people who might be facing hardship or are struggling with their emotions, the money we have raised is so important to achieve this.

“I’d like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has fundraised and donated to help us to achieve this amazing milestone of £75,000, we’re so grateful to every single one of you. I’d also like to thank our sponsors, Utilita, who have backed this event every year and enable us to make it such a special and successful day.”

We currently deliver the Team Mates programme in 13 primary schools around south London. With this new funding we will be able to increase our current provision in primary schools and are set to be able to deliver this programme, for the first time, in secondary schools with an addition of delivering mental health training to teachers.

You can still donate to this year’s Marathon March and help us support even more young south Londoners, HERE.