Guy’s and St Thomas’ charities raise record amount from London Marathon

Fundraisers running the London Marathon have so far raised nearly half a million pounds for four of the hospital charities that support Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

113 runners took on the marathon in the Spring sun last weekend to raise money for Guy’s Cancer Charity, Evelina London Children’s Charity, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity and Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity.

Smashing previous records, the runners raised an average £4,380 each totalling nearly £500,000. This money will be used across the Trust’s hospitals and community services to help support staff, fund lifesaving research and provide care above and beyond what the NHS can on its own.

Two runners in Sunday’s race were couple Kier and Andie Humphreys, who ran on their 12th wedding anniversary for Evelina London Children’s Charity. Their son, Max, was diagnosed and treated at Evelina London Children’s Hospital two years ago for Kawasaki’s Disease, a rare condition that causes the blood vessels to swell and can lead to heart problems if it's not treated early. Kier and Andie, from Selling, Kent, said they took on the challenge to thank the staff and hospital for saving their son’s life.

Speaking of their marathon and fundraising experience, Kier Humphries who finished the marathon in just under 6 hours said:

“This is the first time we've ever raised money for a charity, and it took a fairly traumatic experience for us to do it, but we're so glad we did. We've met amazing people and shared our story with more people than we ever expected.

“The energy and support of everyone from the cheer squads and volunteers to the other runners made for a very emotional day. We're so grateful to have run as part of the Evelina London Children’s Charity team and to hopefully help other families receive the same level of care we did. Thank you to everyone from the bottom of our hearts.”

Rob Halkyard, Executive Director of charities for the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation said:

“It’s incredible to see the hard work and dedication of our amazing fundraisers paying off, raising a record amount for our charities from the London Marathon.

“This money is vital in ensuring our hospitals can continue to provide incredible care while being centres of world leading research, delivering medical breakthroughs in everything from children’s care to cancer diagnosis and heart treatment.

“Thank you to everyone who ran this year’s marathon on behalf of our charities, and I wish everyone a well-deserved rest!”

There are a number of other opportunities for people to get involved and fundraise for the charities supporting the Trust; such as the family focused Remarkable Race taking place in July, and the annual abseil down St Thomas’ in September. A full calendar of events can be found here.