On a beautiful sunny day in May, the Oasis Children’s Charity hosted their first ever Sponsored Fun Run. The event was held at Danes Hill School. Special guests Sir Mo Farah, his wife Lady Tania Farah and their children supported the event by leading the warm-up, participating in the races, and awarding the prizes.
400 participants arrived at the gates of Danes Hill School early on the Sunday morning to run either the 2km or 5km routes that snaked around the school site. Runners of all ages took on the challenge in support of the Oasis Children’s Charity, raising sponsorship money for the life-changing support the charity provides to vulnerable families and children in Elmbridge and the surrounding areas. After leading an energetic warm up, the Farah family took on the Fun Run alongside families from Danes Hill School, Cobham Free School and members of the local community. Founder & CEO of the Oasis Children’s Charity, Caroline Edwards, joined the crowds of supporters cheering on the runners, alongside the charity’s trustees and volunteers.
The Oasis Children’s Charity aims to safeguard children and ensure they are in a loving, family environment. The Charity’s outreach team works tirelessly with an increasing number of referrals. The money they receive goes towards vital in-house services at Oasis including Outreach, Emotional Wellbeing Courses, School Holiday Fresh Food and Toiletry Banks as well as Fuel Bursaries. The incredible donations from the Fun Run will help the charity to continue their work in the community and support vulnerable families get back to a place where they feel independent and safe, with their resilience and self-esteem stronger than ever.
Sir Mo Farah is an ambassador of the Oasis Children’s Charity and a huge supporter of the work they do. Alongside supporting the Fun Run, Sir Mo Farah held an online auction and prizes included the trainers and vest he wore to run in his final London Marathon in April. The winners were announced on the day by trustee Amna Boheim and the Farah family, and medals were awarded for the best effort, the quickest runs and the best dressed!
The charity took to social media and said, ‘A great day. The sun eventually decided to show, everyone had a smile on their face and we raised over £10,000 … and still counting! Thank you everyone for making this happen. Thank you to Sir Mo Farah and your family for making this event so special’. Since then, more donations have been made and the charity have raised a total of £11,720.84.
Maxine Shaw, Head of Danes Hill School, commented, ‘There was a wonderful sense of community at the event. It was very special to see families running together and tackling the hills with a smile as they knew they were helping such a brilliant cause. The Farah Family were incredibly generous with their time and support and having Sir Mo with us really helped to make the day even more brilliant. I am delighted that we were able to support the Oasis Children’s Charity in a way which allowed everyone to take part.’