My Story

I am very excited to say that I am running this years TCS London Marathon to raise awareness and money for Genesis Trust. 

The Genesis Trust exists to offer immediate practical help to people who are homeless and vulnerable, and provide long-term help and opportunities for them through our interlinked projects to rebuild their lives. Genesis Trust work individually with people on their journey from despair to hope, from crisis to independence.

As a Christian charity, Genesis works with local churches and volunteers in the wider community in Bath and the surrounding area to help disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals and families to change their lives.

Genesis Trust do this by meeting their immediate needs, providing compassionate help and journeying with them as they gain confidence, learn new skills, overcome challenges, improve their prospects, and make choices for themselves to restore and rebuild their lives.

Genesis Trust provide and enable a range of practical and person-centred support services to help people in need develop healthier lifestyles and overcome poverty in all its forms. We recognise that poverty is not just about lacking material resources but can encompass a lack of relationships and network of support, and a lack of identity and purpose.

This is something I am very passionate about and feel strongly about supporting people in making positive changes in their lives to provide them with the opportunity to make their futures as bright as possible. 

I am also raising money for my place of work The Mendip School. The Mendip School is a school for pupils aged 4 to 19 with a primary diagnosis of autism (ASD) and speech language and communication needs. Our staff and governors are focused on supporting pupils and families to achieve the best possible outcomes. We work with a range of other professionals to ensure the needs of each child can be correctly identified and we can support each individual and prepare them for adulthood. 

The money raised will be used for inclusive playground equipment and therapy rooms. The outdoor areas of the school have not had any investment in play equipment for the secondary and sixth form areas and we would like to develop these to create an inspiring, inclusive play environment, also giving shade. Climbing equipment, play equipment and shelters, with new surface will help to make the spaces more interesting, inclusive, have a wider range of facilities and engage with more young people. We want to install a variety sensory play pieces of equipment suitable for large children/young adults to engage all those young people in the school with a range of physical, sensory and emotional needs. We want to provide triggers, equipment and spaces for play and learning as well as calm and reflective time. We want to make better use of the space to teach and open to local rural community. 

We need to embed the curriculum and unstructured time into use of the playgrounds avoiding conflict and trauma and encouraging play and lifeskills. Transitions to less structured, mixed aged and ability spaces are difficult and with new equipment we could help to manage this better. Access to more varied outdoor areas will help staff to engage young people in the Thrive Project, a project to help with development and dealing with anxiety and trauma. They can do this through activities such as assault courses, den building, bug hunting and outdoor painting or construction which can mmore easily be enabled with better play equipment. 

The area will also be used by community special needs support groups and the holiday playschemes giving a more inclusive and exciting space to engage the young people. 

I have worked at the school for a total of 8 Years with 3 as a teaching assistant and 5 as a teacher. It would be amazing to help raise money to help contribute to supporting the children at our school. 

Thank you.

Martin