Ladies of Laois put on your running shoes for ALONE at the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon
ALONE, the charity that provides support to older people in need, is calling on the women of Ireland to participate in the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon in aid of ALONE. The charity aims to raise money to go towards the provision of vital befriending services for vulnerable older people.
This year the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon is taking place on Bank Holiday Monday, 1st June. The course will be 10km long and the event will take place in Dublin City Centre. The VHI Women’s Mini Marathon is the biggest all female event of its kind in the World.
Speaking about the event, CEO of ALONE Sean Moynihan said, “We are hoping that women from around Ireland will pledge their support to the older people in our communities and run the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon to raise much needed funds for ALONE.”
“Through the years, a high proportion of our volunteers and donors have always been female. We hope that women will choose to run for ALONE this year as all proceeds from this race will go towards vital befriending services for vulnerable older people”.
One of ALONE’s key activities throughout the year is the management of their Befriending Service whereby volunteers are matched with a vulnerable older person whom they then visit every week. All volunteers are trained and Garda vetted and supported by ALONE staff to ensure quality and consistency of service. The Befriending Service is a model of service that works because it is cost effective, and represents the community looking after its own.
ALONE believe that loneliness should be treated as a serious health risk, as it puts you at higher risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease and decreased immune system responsivity. Older people are the most at-risk demographic for loneliness due to loss of partners and friends which becomes more common as people age. According to TILDA depression is projected to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide by 2020. ALONE are currently working with other befriending groups to ensure consistency and quality across the whole country to ensure no older person is left isolated and lonely.
Registration for the marathon is now open at: www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie
For more information about how you can help fundraise for ALONE and to receive your ALONE mini-marathon pack email fundraising@alone.ie or call 01 6791032.