A team of runners from IMI and the Refugee Studies Centre are to run the Oxford Half Marathon on Sunday 9 October to raise funds for Asylum Welcome.
The team - Alex Betts, Jenny Peebles, Marie Godin, Marion Couldrey, Mathias Czaika and Robtel Neajai Pailey - hope to raise as much as possible in support of the Oxford-based charity which welcomes asylum seekers, refugees and detainees who have fled persecution and danger in their own countries and seek refuge in Oxford and Oxfordshire.
While some of the team will take on the half marathon distance (13.1 miles or 21 kilometres) for the first time, and others hope to beat previous personal records, together they hope to raise as much as possible to support an organisation which last year, among its other activities:
- Helped 847 individual asylum seekers, refugees and detainees;
- Held 652 adult and family advice sessions, providing immigration, asylum, healthcare and housing advice;
- Provided 415 English lessons to empower asylum seekers and refugees to learn English and re-enter education;
- Received almost 1,000 visits to its food bank.
To donate to fundraising efforts visit the team's JustGiving page