Wirral Life May 2019 | Page 93

WIRRAL ARK: PIZZA RUN Birkenhead homeless charity Wirral Ark brought a fun run with a difference to Merseyside on Easter Saturday, with pizza for all runners, medals for dogs and for the vegans taking part, Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls - raising over £850 for the homeless in Merseyside. Runners took on the 5k route around Birkenhead Park, eating a slice of pizza at the 2.5k and 5k marks to finish, with Matthew Rutherford taking first place. 8 year old Conor Hartley took second place with Richie Billinge finishing in third. Lord Mayor of Wirral Geoffrey Watt, presented the winners with their medals. The community rallied around to make the event a success, with Wirral catering company Jakey Jay’s, of Oxton Road, Birkenhead, sponsoring the event by providing pizza for all runners free of charge. Bramhall’s Solicitors contributed towards costs and Gaskell’s Waste Services provided and collected bins free of charge. Gregg’s Charitable Trust provided vouchers to cover the cost of the sausage rolls. The run was open to families with children, and dogs were welcome, receiving their own pet tag pizza run medal. Pauline Cox, fundraiser at Wirral Ark, explained “We wanted to engage the whole family with an event they could all enjoy together. There was a fantastic atmosphere around the Park, with Sharland’s funfair on site and of course the weather helped.” Runners were asked to raise a minimum of £25 each in sponsorship, which enables Wirral Ark to continue their work with the homeless in Merseyside. The event has raised over £4500 so far with more sponsorship yet to be collected.