School children take on mini-marathon for deaf charity, following head’s example
Children at a primary school in Baschurch are taking on the challenge of a sponsored mini-marathon today to support local deafness charity Signal and their headteacher’s first full marathon attempt.
The pupils at Baschurch Primary School near Shrewsbury, whose numbers include a deaf child, will try to run as many 0.1 mile laps around the school grounds as possible in one afternoon. They will count up the number of laps completed and work out how many marathon miles they have all run together.
The whole school is getting behind its headteacher, Mrs Clare Williams, who is taking on the huge challenge of the London Marathon in April. Mrs Williams is running the marathon in aid of Signal, the Shropshire-based charity supporting people who are deaf or have hearing loss at home and overseas.
Signal works to tackle the isolation and stigma faced by people with deafness, hearing loss or tinnitus, by promoting education and learning and greater access to health services. In the UK, Signal: The Hub in the centre of Shrewsbury is the focal point for the charity’s activities, which provide emotional and practical support to people who are deaf or hard of hearing and their communities across Shropshire.
In sub-Saharan Africa, Signal works with deaf children and young people, their families, teachers and community leaders to change negative cultural beliefs about deafness. The charity’s work provides strategies for communicating, training in special educational needs and accessible health information.
Mrs Williams said: “My main motivation is the wonderful children with hearing loss that I have worked with as a teacher. Working with these children and their families has been inspirational to me. With the right support, equipment and awareness, children with hearing loss can and do achieve so much.”
Mrs Williams is aiming to raise £1,000 for Signal’s work. This sum could enable the charity to support 25 marginalised deaf children in Africa into education, setting them off on the path to an independent life.
Alongside training for her first marathon, Mrs Williams also spends her spare time encouraging other runners of all abilities as part of the Run Mummy Run team of buddies based at Shrewsbury parkrun.
To support this Shropshire headteacher’s charity challenge, visit: http://www.everyclick.com/clarewilliams
