Hope for the Future
HOPE for the Future
A team which has every reason to hope for a better future will be taking part in this month’s Run for the Future in Bristol in aid of prostate cancer sufferers.
Not so long ago the 12 members of the team needed the help of others to cope with various addictions, ranging from alcohol and drugs abuse to gambling and food disorders.
Now they are on the road to recovery, thanks to church members at Hope Chapel, who provide them with both spiritual and physical support.
Pastor Silas Crawley, says the weekly support meetings are designed to give recovering addicts hope: “We work with people who have lifestyle addictions and give them hope – a home, opportunity, prayer and encouragement – and it works.”
The programme is completely funded through church donations and provides members with a café, counselling and place of worship. “It gives them a sense of belonging,” says Silas.
Entering a team in the 5km event on the Downs in Bristol on Sunday, 20 September, was the idea of volunteer fitness coach Tennis Russell, who saw it as an opportunity to bring everyone together as well as give them a reason to exercise.
More than 35,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and 10,000 of them die. Run for the Future, which is organised by Bristol Rotarians and sponsored by Spire Hospital, has so far raised £130,000 for the Bristol Urological Institute Prostate Cancer Appeal.
The money is funding a joint project between the BUI at Southmead Hospital and the University of the West of England into the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. It’s hoped it might lead to the introduction of a national screening programme on the NHS.
For further information or to register to take part, visit www.runforthefuture.org or ring the Run for the Future Office on 0117 959 6328.
