Fundraisers from the #kNOwKnifeCrime in Sefton are getting ready to run the London Marathon this weekend!
Laura Hughes and her friends Lynne, Katie, Michelle, Elaine and Christina are taking on the ultimate 26.2-mile running challenge in London this Sunday (21st Sunday 2024).
They will run in memory of Laura’s brother, Colin McGinty, from Crosby, who was just 21 years old when he was murdered in a knife attack while on a night out in Bootle.
Laura and her fellow campaigners have been doing all they can to educate young people about the dangers of knife crime since then.
They are running the London Marathon to raise money through Cash for Kids.
This money will be used to purchase Knife Savers bleed control kits and cabinets that will be donated to communities across the North West region who need them the most.
You can donate to their Cash For Kids London Marathon fundraising page here.
During the London Marathon, Laura, Lynne, Katie, Michelle, Elaine and Christina will run past world famous landmarks such as Cutty Sark (mile 6), Tower Bridge (mile 12), Canary Wharf (mile 18), the Tower of London (mile 22), the London Eye and Big Ben (mile 25) and Buckingham Palace (mile 26).
Laura said: “ #kNOwKnifeCrime is a movement. We are a community, a collective and one loud, united voice that stands against knife crime and its deeper, lasting impact.
“In 2001, we lost our funny, handsome, and ambitious brother, son and friend Colin McGinty. He was just 21 with his whole life ahead of him. Colin was a victim of knife crime in a terrible case of mistaken identity.
“When Colin was murdered, it made headline news. It was a huge shock, not only to the McGinty family, but to the whole Merseyside community because at that time, knife crime was not as frequent an occurrence as it is today. Fast forward 20+ years and sadly, knife crime incidents are much more frequent. Victims are getting younger and the stories are becoming more horrific!
“Our running team started out in 2019 to honour what would have been Colin’s 40th birthday year. Since then, we have grown from just four people to over 100+ members who all run wearing Colin’s trapped forever in time photo with pride and we all stand together on knife crime.”
Laura and her friends Lynne, Katie, Michelle, Elaine and Christina are taking on the London Marathon in April 2024 and are committed to raising £8,096k for Cash for Kids.
This money will be used to purchase Knife Savers bleed control kits and cabinets that will be donated to communities across the North West region who need them the most.
Knife Savers bleed control kits are essential life saving products that need to be everywhere as items within each kit contain equipment that will keep a person alive long enough for the paramedics to take over when they arrive at the scene.
On average, it takes a person five minutes to lose enough blood resulting from a single stab wound that they could die. It takes an ambulance on average seven mins to arrive at the scene of an incident.
Laura said: “We all feel extremely passionate about Knife Savers bleed control kits and if we can spare just one other family the pain and living nightmare of losing an adored child, sibling, grandchild, cousin or friend to knife crime, then our efforts are worth it.
“If you would like to support our campaign, you can do so by clicking the link.
“One Knife Savers kit costs £55 + VAT and one cabinet that can house three kits costs £485 + VAT.”
It’s been a busy few days for Laura and her team.
This week has seen school children from across Sefton taking part in a #kNOwKnifeCrime relay race on Wednesday (17th April 2024).
Both primary and secondary schools came together for this important community event, with over 1,680 children participating.
This symbolic initiative saw 20 children from each school running to the next, utilising the Knife Savers bleed control kit as the relay baton, covering a remarkable distance of 82 miles.
The relay race aimed to showcase a collective stand against knife crime while fundraising for vital bleed control equipment.
The relay race was part of the combined initiative – Sefton’s Schools Unites Against Knife Crime: #kNOwKnifeCrime Campaign, with an action-packed week.
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