Top London Marathon fundraiser

The daughter of a blind veteran ran the London Marathon in support of our charity and raised over £6,000 making her one of our highest ever London Marathon fundraisers. She shares her story in the hope that it will help future fundraisers reach their targets.

Julie, 63, and from Dorset ran her first London Marathon on 26 April and raised an incredible £6,367. She says:

“Running the London Marathon has been on my bucket list for over 30 years and finally this year, I was given the opportunity with a charity place for Blind Veterans UK. It is definitely a first and last for me but I’m incredibly proud to have ticked the achievement of running the London Marathon off my list and to have raised money for the charity that has done so much for my dad.”

Julie's dad

We have supported Julie’s dad, Harold, since he lost his sight around 13 years ago.

Harold completed National Service with the Army between 1953 and 1956 and served with the Royal Army Service Corps including a posting to the Suez Canal during the crisis. Later in life, Harold lost his sight due to glaucoma and macular degeneration. He says:

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of Blind Veterans UK; they have done so much for me by providing equipment and offering training. They have helped me to maintain my independence. I am so proud of Julie for completing a marathon and raising so much money in the process. It’s a huge achievement.”

Julie's fundraising journey

Julie was concerned about reaching the minimum fundraising amount required and was over the moon to have reached £2,500 but she did not stop there.

Julie works in a pub and has an incredible employer who helped her get the ball rolling. At the pub they held a bingo night every month and with her employer's permission Julie also ran a ‘Name the Reindeer’ fundraiser in which customers would pay to enter and fifty per cent went into my fundraising pot and the other half counted towards the prize money.

Independently Julie held two bingo nights, a quiz night, and held a soft toy tombola in which she was supported by her local charity shop with soft toy donations.

On top of these activities, Julie ran her fundraising page so that friends and family could kindly make donations. Along the way she approached local businesses who supported her by donating prizes for her various fundraising events. Julie says:

“I never expected to raise so much; it just snowballed. I feel very proud of myself but that is me done now, I had a dream and that dream has come true.

"I’ll be framing my medal which I got engraved by a local engraver who had supported my fundraising and I’ll be using a local framer who also supported me. This is my way of thanking them for their support."