Brentford Woman Taking on Marathon for Cancer Charity
Supporting free accommodation for families with children in hospital
Kitty Cockram
March 29, 2024
A Brentford woman is taking on this year’s London Marathon to raise money for a charity that houses families with children being treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Kitty Cockram, who has coached the Brentford Penguins along with her father Allan, was inspired to support Paul’s House which is run by Young Lives vs Cancer after a recent visit. It operates accommodation in central London just a 6-minute walk from UCL Hospital and 17 minutes from Great Ormond Street.
Paul's House offers a place for families to stay in London when a child is receiving treatment for cancer, free of charge. Many families in this situation lose an income because they need to give up work to support their child. This means, particularly in a cost-of-living crisis and particularly in London, finding a place to stay with a clean bed and a place to stay can add stress at an already incredibly difficult time.
The cost of running a room for a night is £39, which is all taken care of by the charity. Kitty is aiming to raise £2000 which, she calculates, could give a family a room for 51 nights.
It’s Kitty’s first marathon and she is currently training hard to break her target of completing the course in under 5 hours on 21 April.
She says, “I understand it is a difficult time of year for everybody financially, so any support you can give whether that's a donation, sharing the link or even attending on the day- would be absolutely brill!”
To sponsor Kitty or donate click here.
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