Scott (pictured) is repeating the run he did last year for the charity, of which he is a trustee. He said the cause was something that had always been close to his heart, as it gave young people the skills and opportunity to get ahead in life. 

The Making the Leap charity helps young people with their education and employment opportunities by assisting them with confidence-building and communication skills. 

Scott said: “Some of these young people don’t have the network, they don’t have the resources to catch that break. So the charity steps in and… helps them in this way.” 

To prepare for the half marathon through Royal Parks on 13 October, Scott has been running around 40km, cycling around 50km and completing one long run every week. 

Scott said while it was difficult, he enjoyed the challenge and could feel himself getting “fitter and stronger” as he beat his previous best times. 

Sponsored

Introducing the Green Living Reward

Your clients can now get up to £2,000 cashback for making energy-efficient home

Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries

While he also wants to outdo his performance from last year, Scott said completing the run was about “feeling good at the end and raising money for young people”. 

He said one of the best feelings he had last year was completing the race, and knowing his efforts had made a difference to lives. 

Scott is aiming to raise £2,000 for the charity, with which £10 can cover the costs of a young person attending an employer insight visit and £50 could pay for two secondary school students to experience a mock job interview. 

A donation of £100 could provide one young person with a career mentor, £500 could cover the cost of 20 secondary school students attending a taster work experience session while £1,000 could be used to deliver a professional development masterclass for up to 30 young people. 

 

The power of networking 

Considering the aim of Making the Leap, Scott said it was important for him to leverage his own network to raise money for the charity and help young people to maximise their potential.

He added: “It’s me harnessing all these wonderful relationships I have with people who have got to a level of success in their own careers.

“If they want to be doing more but haven’t found the time or outlet, or maybe they haven’t got the bandwidth to do something themselves, then I’m more than happy for them to contribute to my efforts.” 

Scott said Making the Leap was a “fantastic organisation” that had helped 75,000 people since 1983. 

“None of this is possible without having great people who are very good at what they do. That only gets you so far if you don’t have money, and like all charities, they rely on donations and people digging deep,” Scott added. 

He said he had been involved in the fundraising of around £35,000 in the last 12 months, with most of that coming from individuals. 

Scott said: “What I’d love to see is more direct contribution from firms, lenders, protection providers, stepping up to support social mobility.” 

To donate, please follow this link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/sponsordom