THE group behind plans to bring a junior version of parkrun to Melksham are appealing for volunteers to join them.
Junior parkrun will be a free event aimed at children aged 4 to 14, allowing them to run unaccompanied around a 2km course in King George V playing field on Sunday mornings, supervised by a team of volunteers.
Leading the campaign to bring junior parkrun to Melksham is Craig Murray, Beaver leader at Shaw and Whitley Scouts. Speaking to Melksham News he said, “Plans are going well. I met with the parkrun event ambassador for the area last week who talked me through all the different elements needed to set up junior parkrun.
“I need roughly 20 volunteers for every session – so I’m looking for a core squad of 15 volunteers who can come every week. I’ll also need a pool of casual volunteers who can commit on a semi-regular basis – popping in and out to help.
“Volunteer roles include co-event directors, run directors, and other roles including time keepers, barcode scanners, funnel managers, finish tokens, marshals and tail walkers.
“The response to the plans has been very positive – a lot of people want this to happen. I’m planning to reach out to primary schools in the area to find out from the kids what they think. I’m also hoping to run an event to promote the wellbeing benefits for children by taking part in junior parkrun.”
The initiative has received financial backing from Melksham Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council who have both awarded a grant for £1,000. Craig and his team will find out this week if their application to the Melksham Area Board for a £1,500 grant has been successful.
“If we get the grant from the area board, we will have passed our target of £3,000 to set up junior parkrun, which would be fantastic. Any extra money will be used to buy a defibrillator that will be shared with Saturday’s Melksham parkrun.
“I’m feeling really enthusiastic for this project. The aim is to launch the event towards the end of the summer holidays – around August/September time.”
To enquire about volunteering for junior parkrun, contact Craig by email: cjbmurray@ live.co.uk. Visit the Melksham junior runners Facebook page for more information at www. facebook.com/melksham juniorrunners/
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