Derbyshire man gets set to run the London Marathon to boost charity for disabled children

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 27/02/2017


A Central England Co-operative colleague is set to swap his work boots for his running shoes as he gets ready to take on the London Marathon to raise money for a charity that helps disabled children.

Jamie Gilliver, who works at the Brimington Food Store, in Chesterfield, will join thousands of other runners as part of the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, 23 April.

The customer services assistant hopes to raise over £2,000 for The Society’s corporate charity Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children.

Jamie, who lives in Dronfield with his girlfriend, said: “My team at work and family have offered their full support and so far I have raised around £2,000 with a couple of months left to go.

“I am very happy I decided to go for it. I have done a few half marathons and walks for charity but nothing of this magnitude in terms of size of the event and the amount of money I need to raise.

“I am aiming to do all the people who have sponsored me proud.

“My training is going excellently well and I am following a plan of running four or five times a week with a mixture of long runs, interval training, hills and more.

“I also cycle to work, which equals around 60 miles a week, along with swimming and gym work.

“It is a very tough challenge and every sponsor is helping change the lives of children, which gives me more motivation to do well and make everyone proud.

“Newlife is an amazing charity and I am extremely happy to be a part of helping them achieve their goals and improving the quality of life of so many children.”  

Jamie is aiming to complete the 26.2 mile event in three hours and 45 minutes. He will be joined in his efforts by fellow Central England Co-operative colleague Property Project delivery Manager Chris Page.

Newlife is dedicated to providing information and practical support for children with disabilities and their families.

Although Newlife is a national charity, every penny raised by Central England Co-operative is helping children in the Midlands.

The link-up between The Co-op and Newlife has already raised over £1.2 million so far.

Newlife Head of Community Fundraising and Appeals Nora Smith said: “To have two Central England Co-operative colleagues running the London Marathon in aid of
Newlife is fantastic and we wish them the best of luck.

“Their combined support will make a significant impact on the lives of local disabled and terminally ill children in the Central England Co-operative trading area by providing vital equipment which will make a huge difference to their everyday life.”

Anyone who would like to support Jamie can do by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/JAMIE-GILLIVER1?utm_id=26


Notes to editors

Picture caption: Central England Co-operative Customer Services Assistant Jamie Gilliver is getting set to run the London Marathon in aid of Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children.


About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2017.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.
Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth – PR officer - Central England Co-operative - 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop