Oh Christmas Tree…

Running a race in the middle of winter can be hard work, so imagine taking part in an event where you decide to carry a Christmas tree on your back to raise money for SSJ.

James and Phil took part in a ‘Festivitrees’ run on December 22nd, raising more than £1280 towards the SSJ Christmas Campaign.

We asked them some questions about their treemendous fundraising endeavour.

Why did you take part in this run?

Phil:  “I enjoy running in my past time and thought….why not raise some money for charity while doing it”

James: “We both went to school in Portsmouth, so the race really appealed to us. I also didn’t want to leave 2019 without doing a charity event.”

How was the race. 

Phil:  “The race itself, like the charity, was local. It was tough – I have never run with a tree on my back- but full of festive cheer and I was immensely motivated doing it with my best mate for such a good cause.”

James: “The race was harder than I anticipated. Whilst the tree was lighter than expected, the wind along the seafront really threw us around. The FestiviTree was very well received and kept our spirits (and those around us) very happy. We had a lot of high fives and cars beeping at us from the road! We both tired greatly towards the end and were so thankful to have a good motivation (the charity) to push for.”

Why did you choose to support SSJ?

Phil: “My best friend had the idea of running for a homelessness charity. And I suggested we select one that would be supporting those around our local area. I had a look at the SSJ website and found the focus on the re-enablement of the homeless a very positive message and one I would like to support. The charity seems to go beyond just providing those who are homeless with their basic needs, but helping them in their futures.”

James: “Seeing as we wanted to dress up in some kind of Christmas apparel, we figured the charity should also be relevant. We found SSJ to be doing a fantastic Christmas drive focusing on the homeless and thought this would be a really meaningful and worthwhile cause.”

Appeal update

Thank you to James and Phil for raising one quarter of our appeal total with their run. Whilst the campaign has now reached the target we set, it is still open and any funds on top of the £5000 will  be used towards our on-going mission to buy more housing across Hampshire, in order to get people off the streets and into suitable move-on accommodation.

You can also donate to James and Phil on JustGiving, with that money going towards the SSJ Christmas appeal.