Despite loathing PE at school and only starting to run in January, I'm excited to take on the Oxford Half Marathon this year to raise money for a very worthy cause close to home, Oxford Mutual Aid.
Founded at the start of the pandemic in 2020, Oxford Mutual Aid (OMA) quickly identified food insecurity as a major issue in Oxford. From the outside, Oxford may seem like an affluent city if you’re only looking at the University, but it has many of the most deprived areas in the country and Covid further exposed these inequalities. Years later, through an enormous community effort, OMA is still supporting the community by delivering thousands of food parcels a year to those who need them: no questions asked, just food and other necessities brought to their doorsteps, supported by a team of dedicated staff and volunteers.
In this fundraising challenge, a team of runners are clubbing together to collectively clock up more than 500km per month. Some of us are going a step further and running the Oxford Half Marathon in mid-October for OMA.
OMA support over 200 individuals every week with emergency food and household supplies. They rely on donations to keep going as the demand only increases, so I am very excited by this opportunity to show support. If you want to help show solidarity with those suffering through the cost of living crisis, please consider chipping in!