Paul Mullen completes his 15th marathon for Barnardo's

I decided to undertake the 2010 London Marathon for Barnardo's due to a couple of reasons. The first was that I had a place via the ballot and thought that as Royal Mail sponsors Barnardo's, I would like to make my own contribution to the cause. The second was that my mother continually told me that it was pointless going through all the pain without raising some money for a worthwhile charity, so with 3 weeks to go I contacted Barnardo's to join the team!

As this was my 15th marathon, I knew the pitfalls to avoid as well as the likely pain I would endure along the way, I was more concerned with the rising daily weather reports telling me that it was going to be 24 degrees the hottest day of the year! On the day of the run we were actually drenched between 0900 and 0930 which cooled me down before the race had even started. The weather was humid and slowed me down somewhat but I can't complain  as the clouds above stopped the temperature getting too high and I finished in a respectable 3:48.

The highlight was the wonderful support from all the crowds throughout as well as the noisy but fantastic support from the Barnardo's support team, especially on the Embankment which gave me that little bit of motivation at 24 miles when I was flagging as well as the support of my wife and 2 daughters on Birdcage Walk! I also enjoyed passing Gordon Ramsey and Jenni Falconer at 6 miles and less so when Jenni came past me at 16 miles looking as fresh as a daisy, Gordon was no-where to be seen.

I would also like to thank the Barnardo's staff for their support and kindness at the finishing area and the recuperation area, supplying food drinks and a massage, it felt genuine and was most appreciated by all those that participated. Never again was said for the 15th time, it lasted about 2 hours!!

CRICKET-MAD youngster bowled over by newly decorated bedroom

A CRICKET-MAD youngster was bowled over by his newly decorated bedroom – thanks to dab-handed colleagues at Nottingham mail centre.

A local family was struggling as their seriously disabled daughter needed a bigger bedroom which meant her brother Hassan had to move out of his.

Our team was happy to roll up their sleeves and give Hassan’s new room a makeover. With the help of a £500 community grant from Royal Mail they bought furniture and memorabilia for the sports-mad nine-year-old.

‘Hassan was thrilled with his room, particularly the cricket bat signed by the Pakistani cricket team I managed to get for him,’ says Kevin Dickinson, a night shift manager. It’s great he’s got his own space where he can relax and just be himself.’

CRAIGAVON DO

There are many easy ways to raise money for charities but easy doesn’t always interest the employees at Craigavon Delivery Office. When they recently set themselves a challenge to fund-raise for Barnardo’s they wanted to ensure that it would be a real challenge.

As an office that has a long history of fund-raising they were looking to do something completely different. After much discussion someone suggested that they pull a Royal Mail lorry from Portadown along the 7 mile route to the town of Lurgan. So on the first May Bank Holiday they set off with their Barnardo’s Banner and buckets and helped relieve the passing public of over £1.000 along the route for our nominated charity.

Event organiser Eddie Drury who is a Postman at the Craigavon Office said “when we discussed this at our meeting with Barnardo’s Northern Ireland Representative Lynn McNutt she thought that it was a great idea. We’ve a few more fund raising events planned for over the summer and will be keeping with the theme of “something completely different”.

OMAGH DO

Sporting their specially commissioned “Postbusters” T shirts 2 relay teams from the Omagh Delivery Office recently took part in the Belfast marathon which was held on Bank Holiday Monday to fund-raise on behalf of Barnardo’s.

Along with colleagues who came along as supporters they set off before 7am to ensure that they got to the venue in time for the start of the race. Thanks to the efforts of Acting DOM Sarah Kelly who along with colleague Kevin Bogle ensured that colleagues stuck to the strict training regime they’d been set 5 weeks previously everyone finished their legs of the race. Both teams were delighted to record fantastic times of just over 4 hours and just less than 4 hours respectively.

While the sponsorship money is still being counted they hope to raise around £700 for our nominated charity Barnardo’s.

Volunteers Needed

We are looking for volunteers to help for half a day at our flagship Big Toddle events nationwide through May to July.

Could it be you?

The Barnardo’s Big Toddle is the biggest national fundraising event for pre-school children. It is a short sponsored walk followed by refreshments and entertainment.

Barnardo’s Big Toddle 2009 raised more than £1 million for Barnardo’s work with young children, and we hope to raise even more in 2010. Find out more at our website www.bigtoddle.co.uk. There are some great pictures of Big Toddlers.

What we need from you:

• Your time – from 9.a.m. to 1p.m.
• Your commitment – this is a voluntary role, but we need to know you will be there.
• Ability to work as part of a team.

Tasks will include stewarding the route, giving out refreshments, cheering on the Big Toddlers, helping to set up and clear up.

What you can expect from us:

• Clear directions about what is required in advance of the event.
• Our thanks for making a real difference to the more than 100,000 children and young people we work with every year.

Cairngorm Challenge

Applications for the 2010 Cairngorm Challenge are open. Taking place on 11 September 2010 in the beautiful Cairngorms National Park, teams can complete one of three hike and bike routes, choosing the level of difficulty from the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels.
Those who sign up before 30 April benefit from a discount of 25% on the registration fee.

For more information and to sign up, see the website – www.barnardos.org.uk/CairngormChallenge