Virgin London Marathon
The charities will raise money for a joint project to reduce isolation and loneliness among older people
Age UK and YouthNet, the online charity for young people, have been named as the official charity partners for next year’s Virgin London Marathon.
Money raised from the partnership will go towards the creation of a new national digital inclusion service the charities are working on together, which puts internet-savvy volunteers in touch with older people online to try to reduce loneliness and isolation.
A spokesman for the fundraising website Virgin Money Giving said that as the official charities they would receive a total of 250 places in the race and a further 50 in 2014, 25 in 2015 and 10 in 2016. They would also be given an increased profile on the marathon site.
A statement from Age UK said YouthNet’s experience in recruiting young people to volunteer would be combined with Age UK’s expertise in supporting older people to get online through local internet training sessions.
Paul Farthing, fundraising director at Age UK, said the charities aimed to recruit 600 runners and raise £1m to fund the project. "It’s an important step in helping to reduce loneliness, which is a relentless reality for too many older people," he said.
This year’s official marathon charity partners were Breast Cancer Care and the Prostate Cancer Charity.
