UTILITA POWERS THE 2020 PALACE FOR LIFE ‘MARATHON MARCH’ FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
Utilita sponsors the Palace for Life Marathon March for the fourth consecutive year.
Utilita – Britain’s leading Smart Pay As You Go Energy provider – will be lead sponsor of the 2020 Palace for Life ‘Marathon March’ on Saturday 10th October. It marks the fourth consecutive year that Utilita has supported the Crystal Palace FC charity event, bringing together fans, football legends and supporters to raise valuable funds to help change the lives of young people across south London.
The Marathon March is a 26.2-mile walk which will start and end at Selhurst Park. The route, which is brand new for 2020, passes through Crystal Palace Park and Bromley before dipping into parts of the Greenwich Meridian Trail and the Vanguard Way Trail. Walkers will then ‘march’ through Croydon before making their way back to the home of Crystal Palace FC, Selhurst Park.
Palace for Life CEO, Mike Summers said: “We are thrilled to confirm Utilita as the Marathon March sponsor for this year’s event and are incredibly grateful for their continued support.
“We’ve had a fantastic three years of the Marathon March and this year will be extra special as our route will be staying entirely within south London for the first time.
“Following lockdown, our community needs us more than ever and the money we raise will be helping families and young people to access the support they need to stay healthy, active and safe.”
The biggest fundraising event of the year for Palace for Life, the funds raised will support the most vulnerable in society who have been hit the hardest by COVID-19. At last year’s event, more than £75,000 was raised by Crystal Palace fans, with the money invested into projects such as ‘Team Mates’, which helps children at primary school to build resilience and develop positive mental health.
The sponsorship will also help to fund community events and projects, such as the free month-long summer programme Palace for Life ran offering physical activity sessions alongside educational workshops to help young people prepare for their return to school or college. Other initiatives include the Foundation’s Premier League Kicks, ‘PL Kicks’, programme which uses the power of football and other sports to create safer, stronger and more respectful communities by developing young people’s potential.
Jem Maidment, Utilita Chief Marketing Officer, said: “After recently announcing the extension of our partnership of the Crystal Palace Academy and Crystal Palace Women for 2020 and 2021, today marks another milestone in our loyalty and commitment to not only to the club, but to all the brilliant work the Palace for Life Foundation does for locals in the community. Projects such as ‘Team Mates’ are invaluable to helping support young people in the area and promoting strong, positive mental health has never been more important.
“We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at the march and raising donations to help power future programmes so that young south Londoners can grow through sport.”
Central to the sponsorship will be Utilita’s national #EnergyHigh5 campaign, which will help Palace fans and locals in south London save £163 on their annual energy bill with five simple and free-of-charge adjustments to the way we use energy at home.
This year, new measures will be in place to keep all walkers safe and government guidelines around social distancing will be followed strictly. Walkers will register and start in timed ‘waves’ of six people, to avoid congregation and the venues for all rest stops will be thoroughly cleaned between groups arriving.
To sign up to be a part of the 2020 Marathon March, please see here.