First Fence supports employee running the London Marathon

First Fence Charity Committee

First Fence has recently formed a Charity Committee, to help raise funds and give back to National and Local charities.

Colleagues across our depots have come up with a range of National and Local charities that we would be keen to try and help in the coming months.

As a company we understand how important it is to give back to others and help where we can, and this includes individual fundraising activities too.

Jon’s Marathon Run

Sales Team Leader, Jonathan Burgess, is taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April, fundraising for Brain Research UK.

First Fence wanted to support Jon and help him to raise as much money as possible, so kindly donated half the required funds, (£1,250), to Jon’s JustGiving page.

In addition, the team has taken part in an Easter Bake Off, where all the proceeds were donated to Jon’s marathon run.

“When Jon let us know that he would be running the London Marathon this year, we wanted to support him and the charity that he is raising money for as much as we could,” commented Vinny Kotetcha, First Fence Director.

“We wish Jon the best of luck for Sunday and can’t wait to see him cross that finish line!”

Jon has been training hard for the marathon, and running a huge amount of miles each week, to make sure that he is all ready for Sunday.

“A huge thank you to First Fence, and especially Vinny and Dave, who have donated a fantastic amount, and made my target seem possible”, commented Jon.

“I can’t wait to share the finish line photos with the team, so they can see that each of their donations made a difference.”

Why did Jon choose Brain Research UK?

12,100 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year in the UK and more people under 40 die from brain tumours than from any other cancer.

Personal Reasons –

Jon’s partner’s dad died at the age of 50 from the deadliest brain tumour called glioblastoma multiforme.

Jon also suffers from a condition called Cluster Headaches and has done for the last 20 years. Cluster Headaches are a very rare headache disorder characterized by recurring bouts of excruciating headaches on one side of the head. It is listed by NHS as one of the most intensely painful human conditions. Often called a Suicidal Headache due to the intensity of the pain. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this condition and is why Brain Research has made it one of the projects in their study.

Lastly, Jon’s friend Baylee’s mum suffered from a brain haemorrhage that completely changed her life. She was in a coma for over a month and had to go through speech therapy. One of Brain Research UK’s main priorities is brain injuries and how to help the brain repair. Without the research of this charity, they wouldn’t have been able to help Baylee’s mum in the way that they did.

The brain is still largely unknown and without the research from companies like this, we’ll never know how to help our brains repair.

How do I donate?

There’s still time to donate to this fantastic cause, Jon has a Justgiving page set up which can be accessed here.

Every little really does help, so we appreciate anything that you can provide.

Best of Luck to Jon, and all the other people fundraising and running the London Marathon on Sunday.