A team of runners from Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) will be running the London Landmarks Half Marathon on Sunday 7 April. They will be taking on the 13.1 mile challenge to raise money for Independent Age, a national charity that supports older people living in financial hardship.
The team of four - Russell Meredith, Andrew Bullivant, Bozena Galezewska and Richard Sobey - all work in PIC’s IT department and share a love for running. So, when Independent Age put out the call for runners, the team all jumped at the opportunity.
Since 2019, PIC and Independent Age have been in a partnership that has recently seen PIC donate £1 million to the Independent Age Emergency Cost of Living Grants Fund and £500,000 to help expand the charity’s helpline. PIC also fundraises for Independent Age through their annual Treasure Hunt, which sees PIC and Independent Age staff race around the City of London in fancy dress to raise thousands of pounds for older people in financial hardship.
One of the team, Russell, said:
“Having such deskbound jobs means we all try to stay active when we're not in front of our computers, and fortunately, we all love running! PIC as a company encourages its staff to do fundraising for good causes, and many of our colleagues have run marathons, cycled enormous distances and hiked up mountains to raise money for our amazing charity partners.
“We're all really looking forward to running the London Landmarks half marathon. To do so while raising money for an excellent charity such as Independent Age, which offers advice and support for people in later life, makes it all the more rewarding and exciting.”
Last year a team of runners from PIC ran the Royal Parks half marathon, surpassing their fundraising target. This year the team are hoping to raise £1,200 and are feeling quietly confident.
When asked about their fundraising target, Russell said:
“We're very grateful for the opportunity to go running for such a great cause. We love partnering with Independent Age who always throw themselves into the events that we run, such as the Treasure Hunt. Any donation would be greatly appreciated, I’m fairly sure we’ll hit our fundraising target, although I’d rather not jinx it!”
Independent Age is a national charity focused on improving the lives of older people in financial hardship. It provides a strong campaigning voice, and free and impartial advice on the issues that matter to people over 65 and their families, including money and benefits.
Joanna Elson CBE, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said:
“Thank you to Russell, Andrew, Bozena and Richard for choosing to support Independent Age at this year’s London Landmarks Half Marathon. We admire your commitment to supporting people in later life. I would also like to thank PIC for their continued support since 2019. The money they have raised through fundraising and donations to our helpline and grants programmes have allowed to us to reach even more older people in financial hardship.
“With around 2 million older people already living in poverty and millions more facing financial hardship due to the cost of living, our work has never been more important.At Independent Age, we believe that no older person should face financial hardship. That’s why, by 2027, our goal is to have improved the lives of one million older people. We couldn’t do this without partners like PIC.”
You can support the team by donating here: https://independentage.enthuse.com/pf/pic-up-the-pace
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Notes to editor
For media enquiries please contact
Max Shepherd, Media and Marketing team
E: max.shepherd@independentage.org
M: 07964387681
Out of hours: 07545 209589
Imagery
At Independent Age, we are passionate about using realistic and positive imagery to represent older people. We want to see an end to the use of images that reinforce stereotypes of later life such as ‘wrinkly hands’ that are frequently used to depict older people.
We have collaborated with The Centre For Ageing Better on their image library which contains more than 400 images that can be used to illustrate your story. Access the collection here: https://www.agewithoutlimits.org/image-library