Cheshire man conquers London Marathon for deaf children

Sandbach resident John Paul ‘JP’ Morris conquered the London Marathon in support of the National Deaf Children’s Society on Sunday, 3 October.

JP, who works for Greater Manchester Police Service, successfully completed the marathon distance of 26.2 miles in a time of six hours, 15 minutes.

He has exceeded his fundraising target of £2,000, with nearly £2,500 raised to date for the National Deaf Children’s Society, which supports the UK’s 50,000 deaf children and their families.

JP was inspired to take on the challenge because he is profoundly deaf himself and, in his words, “because of my experience I want to provide equal rights for the deaf community.”

JP said:

“What a top day. It was very special and I loved every minute of it. I want to give a huge thanks to the National Deaf Children’s Society for giving me the chance to run. It was nice to see so many other runners for the charity around the course.

“I did this for the charity because they helped me and my late mum when I was younger. It’s a fantastic charity and it was so nice to give something back.

“I’d like to give a big shout out to the Sandbach Striders Running Club too. It’s a very special running club and they’ve helped me enormously.”

Elle Billinge, who supports fundraisers for the National Deaf Children’s Society, said:

“I want to say a huge thank you to JP for taking on this epic challenge for us. Conquering a marathon is a truly awe-inspiring achievement, and we’re so grateful.

“The National Deaf Children’s Society is dedicated to supporting the UK’s 50,000 deaf children and their families. The efforts of selfless fundraisers like JP will help us to keep on doing our vital work, now and into the future.”

Those wishing to make a donation can still do so by visiting:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-morris1111

There are over 50,000 deaf children in the UK, with over 45,000 in England alone. There are 301 deaf children in Cheshire East.

The National Deaf Children’s Society

• The National Deaf Children’s Society is the leading charity dedicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and their families.
• The National Deaf Children’s Society helps deaf children and young people thrive by providing impartial, practical and emotional support to them and their families, and by challenging governments and society to meet their needs.
• For more information visit www.ndcs.org.uk. For further support, parents can contact the National Deaf Children’s Society Freephone Helpline on 0808 800 8880 (voice and text), email helpline@ndcs.org.uk, or chat online at:

http://www.ndcs.org.uk/livechat