Support our amazing London Marathon 2023 runners
These dedicated individuals are pushing themselves to the limit training in preparation for the event on 23 April.
And if that wasn’t enough, they’re running to raise funds for the people we support at Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity.
Click on their stories below to find out what led them to commit to running for Helen Arkell and how you can support them.
We’ve partnered with Discover Adventure who are award-winning specialists in UK and worldwide trekking and cycling challenges. They offer challenges and adventures all over the world specifically for individuals and groups who are fundraising. Are you ready for an adventure? Want to challenge yourself? There are loads to choose from, with a small selection below. Or head to their website to choose your big adventure!
Vote for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity this February in the My Favourite Voucher Codes Charity Poll
We are delighted to be taking part in My Favourite Voucher Codes monthly charity poll, where we are up for a chance to win 20% of their profits. As one of three charities taking part, we need your support!
My Favourite Voucher Codes isn’t your average voucher code website – not only do they help their users to save money whenever they shop online, they’re also passionate about helping good causes, donating 20% of their profits to charity every month.
With thousands of voucher codes and offers from the UK’s favourite merchants, their site gives users the opportunity to save money on groceries, fashion, tech, beauty, travel, insurance and loads more.
Every month, three charities take part in their poll to compete for votes by visitors to the site. At the end of the month, the charity with the most votes wins the donation.
How is the money raised?
The donation to the winning charity is formed by the amount of voucher codes used throughout the month. Every time someone makes a purchase through My Favourite Voucher Codes, the site makes a small commission, which is at no extra cost to the customer. In short, every time a customer shops through the site, they will be contributing to the donation prize, and of course, the more codes used, the bigger the donation.
How to support Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity
To be in with a chance of winning this donation, we need your votes. You can cast your vote for free from 1 February, and the poll will run up until midnight on 28 February.
You don’t need to register or sign up for anything to take part, and you don’t have to use any codes for your vote to count, so everyone can get involved!
If however you do need to do any online shopping, make sure you have a browse at the site’s offers, as chances are you’ll come across a voucher code to help you save money on your purchase. Not only that, but by making a purchase through the site you’ll also be contributing towards the donation we’re up for winning!
Please share the poll on your social media channels too if you can to help us get even more votes! Show your support for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity this February and help us offer dyslexia support to everyone who needs it.
Thank you!
The Royal Parks Half Marathon is one of the most beautiful city runs in the world. The stunning 13.1 mile route takes in the capital’s world-famous landmarks on closed roads, and four of London’s Royal Parks – Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens.
Taking part will raise funds to help us support children, young people and adults who have dyslexia.
We have places on #TeamArkell and would love you to join us! Register here.
Huge thanks to everyone who has been supporting us in various Tesco stores around the country since last October – this really makes a difference!
You can find out more about Tesco Community Grants here.
The TCS London Marathon is one of the world’s most famous running events. The course follows an iconic route taking in many of London’s landmarks, from the Cutty Sark and the City to St James’ Park and The Mall.
We need your help raising funds to support children, young people and adults who have dyslexia who need our help more than ever.
More information here.
I don’t know about you, but I always find this time of year to be one of reflection. Perhaps it’s to do with Summer suddenly moving very quickly into Autumn, with the evenings drawing in. (We should be used to it, as we’ve seen it happen every year, but it’s still always a talking point, and a bit of a surprise).
Maybe all the events of the last couple of weeks, culminating in the Queen’s funeral on Monday, have added an extra layer of reflection and pensiveness too. A mix of thinking back over an extraordinary life; and looking forward to the beginning of a new era.
When I look back over recent years at Helen Arkell, I can see lots of areas where we’ve made progress. We’re now helping more people with dyslexia than we used to. We’re reaching people from a wider geographical area. We’re helping lots more people from lower-income backgrounds with bursary-funded support.
But there’s still something that we continue to be pretty rubbish at. And that’s the next nut that we need to crack if this charity is going to be able to continue increasing the numbers of individuals with dyslexia whom we help each year.
And that particular nut is to grow the number of brilliant supporters who choose to make a gift in their Will to this charity, for the benefit of people with dyslexia. Other charities attract many such benefactors, to a point where as much as half their income comes from that source. And this is the time of year they generally choose to talk about gifts in Wills. (You may have seen both MacMillan and Cancer Research UK advertising legacies during last week’s Bake Off ad breaks).
Last year several amazing people from our Helen Arkell community let me know that they’d either made out a gift to the charity in their Will, or that they planned to do so. Whilst that is absolutely brilliant (and these people are heroes, who will ensure that future generations continue to be helped by this charity) I would dearly love to persuade each and every person in the Helen Arkell community to at least consider updating their Will, and to consider making a gift to this charity, however small.
I would be immensely grateful if you would read our page on Wills, and take action if you feel moved to do so. I have already written the charity into my Will. Mrs F from Northumberland wrote the charity into her Will too, and we received a gift of £5,000 to help us fulfil our mission.
As you will see, it’s not a question of choosing between family and charity – it’s just seeing if you could spare a little gift after you’ve made provision for your nearest and dearest.
And leaving gifts to charities in Wills can bring tax benefits too.
Thank you!
Andy
PS As someone who makes a pledge to Helen Arkell in your Will, you will be invited to all our events, so you feel in touch with our innermost plans and activities. Please do let us know if you decide to act on the Wills information, so we can be sure to include you. If you prefer to remain anonymous, that’s fine too.
Monday 3 October to Sunday 9 October
Dyslexia Awareness Week is an opportunity to build understanding of dyslexia, highlighting both the strengths and challenges it may bring.
We’d love you to join our events during the week or why not get involved at home, school or work.
Free Webinar with Claire Harvey – Head of Education.
Monday 3 October, 19:00 – 20:00 hours.
Watch the recording of this webinar here.
With Dr Anna Tsakalaki – Lecturer in Education at the University of Reading.
Thursday 6 October, 13.00 to 14.30 hours.
Tickets £15.
Find out more and book your place here.
Get involved
You can get involved in Dyslexia Awareness Week in a number of ways:
Check back here for updates on our Dyslexia Awareness Week plans or sign up for our e-newsletter here.
We’d like to introduce you to the amazing runners training hard to run an epic 26.2 miles in this year’s marathon taking place on Sunday 2nd October.
It’s a huge commitment, with months of training in all weathers. This year they’ve had to cope with weeks of extreme heat and now thunderstorms and torrential rain!
Please show your support for their heroic efforts and encourage them to get to the finish line.
It continues to be such a difficult time for many charities, and we are really truly grateful for their amazing efforts raising funds to support children and adults with dyslexia.
If you could donate a few pounds to spur them on, please click on their names below to find out more about their marathon stories. Thank you.
If you’d like to join the 2023 London Marathon team apply here or email us fundraising@helenarkell.org.uk.
We’d love to hear from you!
Registered charity in England and Wales (1064646). A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, company number 3432423.
Jac van Driel
Colette Grist
Emily Howell
Juliette Moore