With less than a
week to go until the 2017 London Marathon, we are routing for our very own Dovetail
team member, Lara Ballard who is running on
behalf of Shooting Star Chase, a charity that she was introduced to by patron
and former superstar boss Dame Joan Collins.
As the training officially slows down, we catch up with her to find out more.
Everyone has a few
sporting challenges that they wish to complete in their lifetime. For some it's
climbing a mountain, some it's swimming the channel, others it may be something
as simple as learning to ride a bike. For me it has always been the London
Marathon however finding the right charity to run for had always been the
overriding difficulty, given that there are now so many incredibly worthwhile
causes.
Shooting Star Chase is a leading children’s hospice charity
caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and
their families. This is from the point of
diagnosis right up until end of life as well as the months and years after, a
time where often support in other organisations ends, yet this is in fact the
most crucial time that the service is needed. The hospice needs £10million a
year just to keep running.
Over the past couple
of years, I have been lucky enough to work alongside Dame Joan in supporting
the charity, attending events, fundraising and meeting the incredible families
and children the hospice look after. The Shooting Star Chase community is one I
feel privileged to be a part of and I am so proud to now be able to call some
of the staff, children and families my very close friends. The work they do is
something I've become overwhelmingly passionate about and I wanted to go
ahead and do something on my own accord to support the incredible work they do.
So here I am running a Marathon.
Marathon training has been more
challenging than I ever expected, the time, effort and overall determination
required is something I was certainly not prepared for. I would be incredibly
grateful for any donations, no matter how small. Not only will you be
contributing towards a truly life-changing charity but you will also be giving
me the encouragement and motivation to hit my target and most importantly get
across the finish line.
Please
donate below:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LaraBallard
We know you can do it Lara!