Howard Graves Completes New York City Marathon

We are very pleased to tell you all that on the 7th November, Howard Graves from Broughton Beck, successfully completed the New York City Marathon. The New York Marathon is a major annual marathon covering a distance of 42.195 km / 26.219 miles. The course runs through all five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world.

New York 2010 was to be Howard's first overseas marathon and he wanted to mark the occasion by raising money for his local hospice, St Mary's. Howard commented: "St Mary's provides a fantastic service to the local community in Furness and the South Lakes region, but in the present economic climate needs even more help to raise funds so that it can maintain the vital work that it does.”

Howard completed the marathon in a time of 4 hours and 11 minutes. He said: "It was a brilliant day - the crowds and the weather were fantastic."

Howard would like to thank all of those who sponsored him. If you haven't already done so, it's still not too late at www.justgiving.com/howardgraves

Howard has already passed his original target of £1,000 and is well on his way to his new target of £1,500!

Got Talent? Enter the 30/30 Charity Challenge & represent St Mary’s Hospice!

Local people in Cumbria are being given the opportunity to step into the talent spotlight and win a share of £2000 for their chosen charity in the 30/30 Charity Challenge launched by Furness Building Society.

We are looking for as many people as possible to step up and take part and raise funds for St Mary’s Hospice. If you don’t think you have the talent then please pass this information on to anyone who you know who would like to participate to raise money for us.

The talent can be anything from singing, dancing or playing an instrument to magic, comedy or juggling! But it has to be entertaining and fun. The ideal way to record the video audition is on a mobile phone, but it can also be captured on a computer webcam or on a digital camera and can feature a single entertainer or a group. Film clips should ideally be submitted in an MP4 format.

The video clips should be sent to info@lakestv.net with name, age, contact number and details of which charity they are representing. Alternatively the video clip can be handed in at a Furness Building Society branch or at any of the Society’s agents. Please submit your clip as soon as possible!

The best 12 individuals or groups will be invited to perform live on stage in the North West 30/30 Charity Challenge Grand Final on December 3 at the Coronation Hall in Ulverston, Cumbria. Judging will be by text message, audience votes and a panel of experts to decide who gets the cash prizes for their charity; £1,000 for the winner and a further £1000 to be divided amongst runners-up.