Berkshire Community Foundation - St James raise funds for Berkshire Community Foundation

St James runs the Reading Marathon to raise over £6,000 for Berkshire Community Foundation.

L-R: Deana Everingham, Jason Page, Bob Crompton, Mark Greenwood, Evan Holland, Neil Ramsdale, Michelle Harris
Photo of St James team by George Obed, 07722 680388,
www.georgeobed.co.uk

The team behind Kennet Island – Reading’s largest ever private sector property development – has taken time out from managing the creation of a new urban village in the town to raise £6,000 for a local charity, by participating in last weekend’s Reading Marathon.

To demonstrate its commitment and support to the local community, the senior management team at St James Thames Valley decided to test their physical mettle in the grueling 13-mile marathon event for the benefit of the Berkshire Community Foundation.

Without any previous marathon running experience, each member of the seven-strong St James team developed an individual training schedule in preparation for the event. Already committed to working long hours to get the first phase of Kennet Island ready for its launch on Saturday 29 April, this was no easy task.

Sponsorship support was gained from suppliers, contractors, along with family and friends of the team members.

Deana Everingham, Sales and Marketing Director, and a resident in the Reading area, explains: “My sister and I decided to set ourselves a personal challenge. Neither of us had ever done any running prior to this event.

“Running the marathon gave us a fantastic feeling of personal achievement, but at the same time it was great to know we were also raising money for a very worthy cause.

“At the start of the race, adrenalin was high. But after five miles I felt exhausted and couldn't believe it when we made it to 11 miles. For the last two miles my legs felt on fire, but running into the stadium to the finish line was amazing!".

Bob Crompton, Director, St James Group, commented: “As a company we decided to set ourselves this goal – it is important for St James to feel part of the local community and not just be seen as another ‘property developer’. So rather than just making a corporate donation, we decided to all show our own personal commitment.

“We have had great support from our contractors, friends and family etc, and it has been well worth it. We are thrilled the amount of money we have succeeded in raising and are pleased its going to help support the local community”.

St James Homes is currently building 850 new homes on a brownfield site in the Lower Kennet Valley, in the south west of Reading Borough. The site, which is adjacent to the A33 has undergone complete regeneration, and under the new name of Kennet Island, will be the largest new private sector residential community ever built in Reading.

www.stjameshomes.co.uk

The total sponsorship is now over £12,500!

About Berkshire Community Foundation
Berkshire Community Foundation is a charity dedicated to helping small local voluntary and community groups who provide vital services to people in need throughout Berkshire, through its grant making programme. The charity supports local children, individuals and families in need. The Foundation also aims to support the smaller groups who are doing vital work but who have real difficulties in raising funds. It also runs the ‘Berkshire Give A Child A Chance’ appeal which is one of the only grant streams in the county to make grants to individual children.

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