THE founder of a trauma support service in West Bridgford has completed her 100th park run this June, as part of her ongoing fundraising efforts to combat the trauma and distress caused by sexual abuse in the Nottinghamshire area.
56-year-old Cath Wakeman from Mapperley Park has run 100 park runs in support of Imara, a charity she founded in 2010 with Tasmin Baldwin OBE. The not-for-profit organisation supports hundreds of children, teenagers and families across Nottingham who have been affected by sexual abuse.
Cath has been urging volunteers to join her and help raise much-needed funds by running, jogging or walking the 5km stretch at the Forest Recreation Ground on 4 June.
Through combined efforts from Cath and other volunteers, £736.25 has been raised for Imara from the 100 5k park runs.
She said: “It was a great feeling to know that I have now completed my 100th park run. Imara is a very small organisation so we rely heavily on fundraising and the support of volunteers to keep our service going.
“It is more important than ever to continue providing our crucial support as there is a great need for it in the community. It can make a real difference to someone’s life and help not only victims, but their families too.
“We help around 100 people a year and a £10 contribution to each person would allow an Imara care worker to travel 25 miles to a client for a home visit. £50 pays for a full day of visits for a care worker and £100 provides a therapeutic assessment – so donations are invaluable to us.”
All of the park runs were held at the Forest Recreation Ground, with the final one taking place on Saturday 4th June where Cath was joined with 16 other people.
Cath added: “I have always been active but felt that running a 5k run 100 times would be a good way to stay fit and provide vital funds for Imara. I am now preparing for my next charity fundraising event.
“I will be swimming around the Isles of Scilly in September, in April I was training in Lake Windermere it was very cold but I’ve got my wetsuit at the ready for the big day.”
For more information on Imara and how you can get involved in fundraising, please visit: www.irmara.org.uk. To register for park runs, please visit: www.parkrun.org.uk/register.
