London Marathon - Not too late to sponsor me

[p]Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. It is not too late to sponsor me and to support the vital work of Shelter. On 22nd April I ran the hottest London Marathon ever in a time of 5 hours 4 minutes and 35 seconds. In terms of sheer physical endurance this was by far the toughest thing that I have ever done. I really value your donations which help greatly in Shelter's work to support those suffering from issues of homelessness and housing vulnerability. At present there are around 300,000 homeless people in the UK and 128,000 of these are children. [/p][p]Helping those who suffer from homelessness or housing vulnerability is very important to me. When I first started attending church in the 1980s I went to the Methodist Central Hall in the centre of Hull. This was a wonderful church which, because of its location and commitment to outreach, helped many homeless people. Some of my earliest Christian service was in this context. Later, as a student, I lived in the centre of Birmingham and attended the Birmingham Central Methodist Church. Again, the issue of homelessness was very significant. As a Methodist minister I served for 9 years in the centre of Middlesbrough. Most weeks this involved some kind of care for those suffering from issues of homelessness and housing vulnerability. It seems to me that these issues are becoming more challenging year by year. Shelter reports that there are currently more than 124,000 homeless children in the UK. Rough sleeping has doubled since 2010. I care deeply about this and share Shelter's commitment to work 'until there is a home for everyone'. Please help by sponsoring me. With heartfelt thanks, Martin.[/p]