A thousand Wallys ran through a sunny Victoria Park today to raise a laugh—and funds to improve reading and writing standards.
The Wallys raised £60,000 in the National Literacy Trust’s second annual ‘Where’s Wally’ fun run.
The trust’s Anna Jones said: “Last year’s run was in the snow and this year we’re pleased to have so many more Wallys turn out for us.”
They dressed in costumes looking like the character from the Where’s Wally children’s books created by Martin Handford, with hundreds of spectators cheering them on to the finish line.
One Wally runner, Ruth Heyes, 29, had faced her own struggle with reading and writing when she was young.
“My confidence took a hit at school,” she recalls. “I got through it with support from my parents and teachers and now I’m a qualified architect.
“But many children don’t have this level of support and fall through the gap.”
Money raised at Vicky Park is for a programme helping children in deprived areas get literacy skills.
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