17 Aug ‘Money raised through charity places makes a massive difference, whether for those battling cancer, animals in need, or rough sleepers’
Rough sleeping and homelessness have always been a very personal issue for Stan Robertson.
The founder of Northampton-based rough sleeper charity, Project 16:15, has been through the cycle of addiction.
He lived on the street and spent time in prison before finding his own value in the Christian faith.
It was a conversion that eventually resulted in Stan forming Project 16:15 in 2017, just in time to face the Beast from the East cold snap six months later.
The charity is now one of a host of organisations which runners of The Amazing Northampton Run can fundraise for.
They include military charities such as Combat Stress, Veterans With Dogs and PTSD 999, alongside other food poverty and homelessness groups such as The Hope Centre and the McCarthy Dixon Foundation.
The list of charities we support also features care providers like Cynthia Spencer Hospice, Cransley Hospice, The Lewis Foundation, Pink Rooster and Age UK Northamptonshire; animal charities including the RSPCA and Animals In Need; and a host of health and social charities such as Northamptonshire Rape Crisis, Northampton Charitable Health Fund, Breast Friends Northampton, Home Start, The Lowdown, Air Ambulance, Papyrus, A21, Kidney Care, The Sepsis Trust, Headway, Kids Aid and the Mintridge Foundation.
Stan said he is proud to see Project 16:15 featured in a list of such valuable groups: “It’s great that The Amazing Northampton Run offers people the chance to run to help those, across a wide range of areas, who need our help.
“The money raised by people who take up charity places can make such a massive difference, whether for those battling cancer, animals in need, or – of course – rough sleepers.”
He told Go Beyond that Project 16:15 is based on his belief that everyone has equal value.
“The guys and girls sleeping rough have the same worth and humanity as I have, as anyone has,” he added.
“Project 16:15 started to deliver to people what I felt was missing on the streets: dignity, self-respect, value and worth.
“People on the streets didn’t understand they were worth anything. Their lives were focused daily on their situation and their circumstance.
“I wanted to give them a reason to wake up and to be more than they were.”
At first, Stan delivered bacon rolls and coffee to rough sleepers via a rucksack. Over the years, he has graduated to a trolley and eventually a small fleet of vehicles.
His ethos, though, remains the same.
“People need company and conversation. They need to be given the time and value they deserve,” he said.
“Project 16:15 has become an all-round welfare service, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year.”
Fundraising targets for charity places at The Amazing Northampton Run are set at realistic targets to allow runners to focus on enjoying the event instead of stressing about if they have raised enough money.
People need to raise just £150 for an individual race place or £240 for entry as a relay team.
Anyone who opts for a charity place will pay a £10 admin fee. Charity entrants must agree to raise the minimum amount for the race. In return, the charity will pay for their ticket, less the £10 paid on sign up.
To find out more, and to enter The Amazing Northampton Run through a charity place, simply click here: https://www.theamazingnorthamptonrun.co.uk/charity-partners/