Running for BeyondAutism

Andrew is a parent of one of our pupils at Park House School. Since his son joined the school, Andrew has been a keen fundraiser for the charity.

He has taken part in events ranging from The Santa Run (a 5km fun run) through to the Richmond Marathon. In total he has raised over £8,000 for the charity. We caught up with him to find out why he enjoys raising money for BeyondAutism.

What is your motivation for your fundraising events?

I need motivation to make myself do the challenges so raising funds for a great cause like BeyondAutism is the perfect motivation to push myself to the next distance each time.

In each case it’s a new goal, it’s a new distance and it’s a new opportunity to raise funds for the school and the charity.

“Whether you raise £50 or £500 it all matters, it all counts. Don’t let the size of the challenge stop you from trying.”

Why did you choose BeyondAutism as your chosen charity?

I’ve really appreciated the help and support that the school and charity together have given my son, and us as parents. Autism is such a broad term and people have very stereotypical views of it. This is a great way to raise awareness of autism so that people better understand the challenges. It’s good to be able to raise awareness of that and the differences and difficulties that come with it.

What do you enjoy most about your events?

Seeing Tram House School completed was a great feeling of fulfilment and contribution knowing that I’d played a part in funding that. I know if I’m raising money for the charity, I will be able to see what my money is going towards.

I really enjoy being able to talk about autism with people and the challenges that my son has. Some parents might not be comfortable in different environments talking about the challenges of being a parent of a child with autism and I actually think it’s good to share. It gives me the opportunity to talk to more people and I can broach the subject in a comfortable way.

What advice would you give to people thinking about taking part in an event?

There are people out there who may think that they have to run a long distance, or have to raise a lot of money, and the reality is the goal is as big as you want it to be – whatever’s challenging for you. Whether that’s running 5km, whether it’s not running but doing a bake sale, it’s any activity you can associate fundraising to. It doesn’t need to be athletic and it should always be fun. Again, on the fundraising side whether you raise £50 or £500 it all matters, it all counts. Don’t let the size of the challenge stop you from trying.

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