I'm spending my school holidays fundraising for children with autism
A kind-hearted teenager is putting his best foot forward during the school holidays to help children with autism.
Jude Graham, 13, set himself a target of raising £500 for Ambitious about Autism, a national charity that supports autistic children and young people, championing their rights and creating opportunities.
The Roker runner was inspired to raise the funds for his cousins Lily and Isla who have both been diagnosed with autism.
Their dad Sean Brown, Jude’s uncle, has been raising money for the charity and will be running the London Marathon amongst other races for the cause.
Seeing his uncle’s passion for fundraising, the Whitburn CoE pupil decided to do his bit - and he’s close to smashing his target just five days after starting his Just Giving page. (£17 off at the point of writing and likely to hit it today).
After the first mile, he’s been spending his half term holidays running 500 metres for every £5 donated which equates to around 32 miles, but he may increase that.
His running routes have taken him all around the area, with his longest run so far being 15 miles.
It’s the first time Jude has run these distances and he says he’s delighted with the support he’s received and has been posting on social media to thank all those who’ve donated.
“It really motivates you to get up and run when you know you’re doing something good for other people,” he said. “I absolutely love running - the only thing is the blisters!”
Speaking about the overwhelming support he’s received, Jude said: “I’d love to say thank you to everyone who’s donated - not just for supporting me, but for supporting a great charity.”
Sean said: “This week I received the nicest message from Jude which said that Jude wanted to raise money for charity like me and start running like me. I was so proud of him, I could have cried!
“When I was 13 years old, I wasn’t thinking about raising money for charity, but Jude is special and he we’ve learned he doesn’t just have a huge heart he also has very fast legs as well. This could be the beginning of him falling in love with a sport he may love for the rest of his life.
“ While so many children in Sunderland will be taking a well deserved break from school Jude is instead trying to raise as much money as possible for Ambitious about Autism.”
You can find our more about the support offered by Ambitious about Autism at https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/