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Volunteer at the Ealing Half Marathon 2019

Ealing Half Marathon still needs about 100 volunteers for this years event. You don’t have to be a runner to enjoy Ealing’s biggest event of the year. Last year, hundreds of volunteers got involved and had a great time making Ealing’s Half Marathon such a wonderful success for the runners and spectators alike resulting in the event winning the accolade of the Number One Best Half Marathon 2014, 2015 & 2016 at The Running Awards.This year we’ll be putting together an even bigger volunteer team of 700, looking after the race village in Lammas Park, and out on the roads of Ealing guiding the runners and helping local residents. It’s a fun & rewarding experience for all and we’d love you to get involved! You will need to be able to give between 4 to 6 hours on the day depending on where you are volunteering. The required start time for most volunteer areas will be 07:30am to allow for all the logistics on the day.As a thank you for creating such a great race we’ll provide you with a free breakfast roll, staff t-shirt and memento medal of the day for you to keep plus a FREE race place for 2020.There are a large number of roles available on race-day:Team LeadersTraffic co-ordinatorsRace marshalsWater station teamsBaggage & race village co-ordinatorsVolunteering is a great opportunity to feel part of the event and meet new like-minded people.You register at www.ealinghalfmarathon.com/volunteer

Sandra Courtney ● 2588d0 Comments ● 2588d

Age does weary us.

The young staff manning the recent Heathrow Airport Expansion Display on Ealing Common were surprised that although the Elizabeth Line had step free access to the trains the stations' forecourts at Ealing Broadway and West Ealing had no facility to pick-up and drop-off the disabled, those with luggage, pushchairs and the walking elderly. This is contrary to the British Standard for the design for station forecourts for access for the disabled.Only two Tube stations have step-free access in Ealing. One Acton town has a lift that cannot be used to drop off passengers illegally because LBE have a CCTV camera operating there. This generated fines for drivers who try to drop off passengers who have difficulty with stairs.Ealing's transport portfolio holder and senior officer assume that they might never get old like Peter Pan and need some help to be able to access our trains. I have written to Rt Hon Nusrat Ghani MP Accessibility Minister just  10 days ago complaining of this stupidity. The other body who might help are Transport for London who have a party in Dean Gardens this Saturday 20th July. The focus of this is to spend large amounts of dosh to improve the park but wasn't large amounts spent on it recently when it was out of action for 9 months. Perhaps they are Peter Pan-like too. Certainly they are like Nero hoping to feed cyclists to lorries and buses down the Uxbridge Road; another numptie idea.And all this electronic parking stuff ..all designed for the young. Now with libraries under threatPerhaps now is the time to up sticks and go to Torquay or Eastbourne. Clearly we aren't wanted in Ealing.

Arthur Breens ● 2616d47 Comments ● 2588d

Read with children!

Do you remember a character from a childhood book as fondly as an old friend?If you do, you’ll know the magic of being able to slip into another world as and when you need to, or how books can make your world a bigger, brighter place.For bookworms especially, it’s hard to believe that anyone could see reading as anything other than empowering, or even just a pleasure. For the third of children from disadvantaged areas who leave primary school without being able to read well, often it’s nothing but a chore.That’s why we like to turn up on the doorstep, with a backpack of books, two little stools, and a pair of volunteers who know that words take you places. Every week, come rain or shine, our volunteers bring the magic of reading directly into families’ homes every week, in low-income areas across London.Doorstep Library volunteers don’t just read stories; they do the silly voices, handpick the books, and give special recommendations. By making it fun first, we get to watch children transform into budding readers. We love when parents get stuck in with the sessions too and encourage them to get involved in their children’s education.Sometimes though, we’re just there to give a bit of extra support, whether we’re passing on info about a family activity, lending an ear, or even just being a friendly face. Then, before we go, we leave behind a selection of books for each child to borrow for the week.If this sounds like the role for you, these are the basics. We run projects on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in estates across Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Lambeth.In Hammersmith and Fulham, Monday and Tuesday projects start at 3.45pm and finish at 6.30pm, and Thursday projects start at 4.30pm and finishing at 7.00pm.If you'd like to know more contact Daniela Cardoso at volunteer@doorsteplibrary.org.uk

Daniela Cardoso ● 2609d16 Comments ● 2589d