THREE brothers are preparing to run a half marathon in memory of their dad who dedicated his time to helping a homeless shelter.
William Norman, 26 and his brothers, Ben 28 and Thom 31, will be participating in the Great North Run on September 8 along with Karen Delgado, Thom’s partner.
Their father, Andy Norman, died in August 2018 aged 58 after suffering a heart attack.
Following his death, the brothers were touched by a wonderful gesture homeless charity CentrePoint made in memory of their dad, by opening a learning hub and naming it after him. He had helped the charity for more than ten years.
The Andy Norman Learning Hub, supported by the Morrisons Foundation, is a dedicated space in which young people can learn and improve the skills they need to move towards education, training and ultimately independence.
The hub is available not just to CentrePoint residents but also to young people who are at risk of homelessness in Barnsley.
CentrePoint’s Patron the Duke of Cambridge officially opened the hub in November along with his wife the Duchess of Cambridge.
William, of Staith Lane, Mapplewell, said: “My dad helped to build the hub and his death was very sudden for all of us.
“It was a wonderful gesture for CentrePoint to name the hub after him and it just shows how valued he was there and following his death my brothers and myself learnt a lot about the centre and the work they do.
“Myself and Ben were invited to the official opening and I spoke with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and I told them that we would be completing the 2019 Great North Run. I realised after I said it I couldn’t back out as royalty knew about it.
“My brothers and Karen are established runners but for me it’s been quite a challenge to keep up with them, but we are looking forward to completing the race and giving something back to CentrePoint, who help so many young people. It will be a great honour in my dad’s memory.”
Andy’s friend and colleague, Chris Denton, Barnsley CentrePoint services manager, said: “Andy would be over the moon his sons are doing the run for CentrePoint. He was always updating us on their careers. He would be chuffed to bits his boys are fundraising.
“He was fully committed to raising funds for CentrePoint and would be overjoyed that we still think about him, though he would be saying: ‘What’s all the fuss about?’
“We still talk about him expecting him to walk into the office, he was so reliable.”
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