Marathon season is upon us and last week, children across Sefton donned their running gear and clocked up hundreds of miles as they raised money for the kNOw Knife Crime campaign and Knifesavers.
The target was to raise £10,000 and not only has the Sefton community smashed that target, but the donations are still flooding in.
Over 80 schools in Sefton ran mini marathons last week, collectively clocking up the impressive 26.2 miles many times over.
Schools also took part in a relay event, running between schools, spreading the running buzz and raising awareness.
You can watch a video of their efforts here.
The event was organised by the kNOw Knife Crime campaign and Kew Woods Primary in Southport in partnership with Knifesavers, a national campaign aimed at creating a network of bleed control kits right across the country.
The bleed control kits are in public places and, like defibrillators, can be accessed in an emergency to save a life. They contain first aid equipment that will stop a person bleeding too much and give more time for an ambulance to arrive and save a life.
Children across Sefton donned their running gear and clocked up hundreds of miles as they raised money for the kNOw Knife Crime campaign and Knifesavers
Sefton schools ran to raise money to purchase these bleed kits and create a network of them across Sefton for the whole community to use in an emergency. Around 50 students also spent their weekend in London for the London Marathon where they ran the London Mile and cheered on some of their teachers who ran in the main marathon.
Laura Hughes from the #kNOwKnifeCrime campaign group said:
“What an incredible week we have had as a campaign;
“Over 35,000 children have taken part in the TSC virtual mini marathon.
“Over 1,600 children have taken part in the Sefton Schools say #kNOwKnifeCrime relay race passing on a bleed control kit as the baton.
“54 children took part in the TSC mini London marathon on Saturday.
“Six kNOwKnifeCrime campaigners completed the TSC London marathon on Sunday.
“Approx £23,000 has been raised collectively which is going to be used to purchase and donate bleed control kits across the local community.
“The kNOwKnifeCrime campaign is a part of many youth anti knife crime projects throughout the UK and I would welcome the opportunity to share what we have done to date in memory of Colin but also what we have coming up over the next few weeks!”
The Assistant Director for Education at Sefton Council said:
“It is fantastic to see our schools come together for such a fantastic cause! The money this event has raised will make everyone in our community safer and our kids have made that happen!
The kNOw Knife Crime campaign, founded in memory of Colin McGinty, who was fatally stabbed in 2001 and aims to promote safety among children and positively educate them about the dangers of knife crime and give them the tools to be confident and aware in our community.
Knifesavers is a national campaign and are currently pushing for public buildings to have bleed control kits on hand to the public to improve the chances of surviving a tragic incident.
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