After months of training hard, school specialist caterer Pabulum took on the challenge of the Fleet Half Marathon in a special fundraising effort for an incredibly worthwhile case, the Red Balloon Learner Centre Reading, which supports severely bullied or traumatised children.
The runners, who included chefs and head office personnel from Pabulum and its sister companies Nviro and Mountjoy set themselves a target of £1,500 to raise for their chosen charity, the Red Balloon Learner Centre. The centre provides an academic and therapeutic programme to enable its students to get back on track and reconnect with society.
The team, which included Managing Director Nelson Williams and Senior Development Chef Richard Tilly, ran the course in an average time of 1 hour 56 minutes, with the fastest time of 1 hour 33 minutes coming from Operations Manager Tony Wicking. Williams, who completed the 13 mile course in 1 hour 58 minutes, commented:
“It was fantastic to have a team of Pabulum staff from across the business come together for the half marathon challenge. There was a really great feeling within the team and knowing we were running for such an important cause certainly helped keep the momentum going. Red Balloon is a charity that’s incredibly close to our hearts, we really want to do all we can to help the centre provide a safe environment in which children who have been victims of severe bullying and abuse can learn and start to recover. I’m incredibly proud of everyone on the team and we’re all really pleased with what we’ve managed to achieve.”
The triumphant team beat their target and in total raised £1,603 for the Red Balloon Learner Centre, a big step towards the caterer’s overall fundraising target of £15,000 for the year.
Pabulum has long been a supporter of the Red Balloon Learner Centre and has raised over £30,000. Marketing Manager, Lorraine Pickett explained why it’s a cause which matters so much to them:
“As a mother of two children, I hope my own contribution of running this event will help improve the lives of these children. The money raised will help not only with the educational provision at the centre, it also goes a long way towards the therapeutic care the children so badly need. Being a school caterer, the education, health and wellbeing of school children is hugely important to us. That is why we fundraise for Red Balloon as much as we can all year round to enable them to continue with the vital support they provide. I know this donation will be put to good use, helping children who very often have nowhere else to turn.”
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