It’s been an exciting day joining our partners The Body Shop at Home for their Global Kickstart Conference to launch 2021. 

As well as looking forward it was a moment to say thank you for such an unexpected and record breaking year of fundraising for Children on the Edge. We could never have known just how challenging a year 2020 would be when we last met with thousands of consultants in February, and yet you have risen to every challenge and created incredible moments of change for Children on the Edge. 

After the 2019 Chichester Half Marathon boasted its highest registration numbers to date; co-organisers Children on the Edge will be stepping out on a high, passing full responsibility for the management of the event to their partners, Everyone Active.
 
Chichester based charity Children on the Edge revived the annual running event in 2011 together with Chichester District Council (latterly Everyone Active) and have continued to grow the race ever since, with profits going to their work with marginalised children around the world.
 
Ben Wilkes, the charity’s Executive Director says “It’s been a privilege to revive this much-loved event and to see it become increasingly popular on the Chichester calendar over the last eight years.”
 
Entering its 30th year in 2020, Children on the Edge now supports over 10,000 refugee children with a small staff team based in Chichester. Wilkes says, “We’ve been delighted at the high numbers, but as a small charity we feel that the time is right to pass the baton to Everyone Active, enabling us to focus on recruiting charity runners and invest more time in meeting the growing need we are seeing in the areas where we work”.
 
Having partnered with Children on the Edge to deliver the event for the last few years, Everyone Active is well versed in the organisation of The Chichester Half. The multi terrain event sits comfortably in the collection of large-scale sporting events they deliver in the area throughout the year, including the Midhurst Ramble Sportive and Nature’s Way Foods Chichester Triathlon Series.

Stuart Mills, Contract Manager for Everyone Active says “It has been great to work alongside Children on the Edge for so many years, supporting such a worthy cause and delivering one of the most popular local running events. We are excited for the future of the event and all set to make the 2020 Chichester Half the best race yet. This city and its surrounds offer an incredible backdrop to getting active and the multi terrain Chichester Half event is one of the best ways to enjoy it”.  
 
The 2020 Chichester Half Marathon is set to take place on the 4th October and early bird offers will be launched in the New Year. Runners can find out more and register their interest by clicking this link. 

Dan O'Sullivan from Make it Cheaper shares how; “​I saw first hand how Children on the Edge make a difference to the lives of truly vulnerable children and knowing Make it Cheaper were part of that is truly satisfying. We are a passionate bunch and took the cause to heart, whether we were doing bake off competitions, running through mud or donating from our pay packets. We were brilliantly supported by the Children on the Edge team and couldn’t have raised this great amount without them.” ​