Meet Chris, our Leyton legend!
Chris, a volunteer with our Waltham Forest team, is raising money to help support local young people during this challenging time. Here, he introduces himself and explains what he's us to:
Hi, I am Chris, from Leyton. I have a learning disability and suffer with anxiety. I am 22 years old and I am an elite para-athlete and train 6 times a week. I have a personal coach who helps me a lot.
I volunteer with Worth Unlimited because I care about the young people in Waltham Forest. I was very upset to see one of the youth centres closing down, so I am really happy to help Worth Unlimited to continue their work. I have helped with the admin round the office and with the merchandise as well as promoting the charity on social media.
"I love working with Helen, Dave and the rest of the team and would highly recommend volunteering with them. It has helped my confidence, taught me new skills and given me a reason to wake up on Wednesday mornings!"
Chris is committed to using his talents to support people less fortunate than himself:
In the past, I have done sponsored runs to fundraise but my coach would prefer that I concentrate on track competitions, so I have designed some free gifts featuring my "Believe 2Achieve" logo: t-shirts, water bottles and wrist bands, which I am giving away to anyone that gives a donation to Worth Unlimited.
Click here to donate and claim your free gift!
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Branch Leader, Helen Perry, described the difference that Chris' support is making.
"The money that Chris is raising is going towards providing phone support to young people while we are unable to run our usual sessions. We are supporting young people with coping with lock down, family issues, anxiety about going back to school and not having anything to do at this time. We are hoping that by the end of July to be able to start arranging some socially distanced meetups with the young people and also to be able to run some safe activities in the parks and local areas where they are (depending on Government advice). We have seen a drop in our grant funds and it is much trickier, due to Covid-19, to fund raise through events, so this money is extremely helpful."
Click here to check out Chris' fundraiser
This isn't the first time Chris has raised money for charity. In December 2019, Chris was named on the Learning Disability and Autism Leaders’ List, created by charity Dimensions to celebrate achievements of people with learning disabilities and/or autism. He was awarded the 2019 Oliver McGowan Award in recognition of his charity work and sporting achievements. Over the past 6 years he’s raised £7,000 through running various distances, including a marathon. We're delighted that he's chosen to support us too!
