Cricklewood Bingo Hall manager recruits wife to run for disabled children

Norman and Asha Treacy are running a half marathon for CHIPs, which provides children with wheelchairs (Pic: Will Dennehy) (Image: www.willphoto.co.uk)

Norman Treacy, a food and beverage manager at Beacon Bingo in Cricklewood Broadway and his wife Asha are running the Vitality Reading Half Marathon next month for CHIPs, a charity supporting children with mobility issues.

The 13-mile marathon will be a first for the couple, who learnt about the charity during a wheelchair presentation at the bingo hall.

Mr Treacy, 50, said: “I was very overwhelmed when I saw the wheelchair presentation for the first time and I feel like not enough people know about CHIPS and the great work the charity does.

Our aim with the run is to not only to raise funds for CHIPS, but also get raise awareness of the charity by shouting about it on the streets of Reading during the marathon.”

The pair began training in November and have been slowly stepping up the distances so that come March 19 they can face the challenge with confidence.

He added: “Asha and I have been married for 25 years, and we’ve always motivated and pushed each other in everything we do, So far with the running this attitude has worked wonders. She gives me great support and I hopefully give her good support in return. I really couldn’t ask for a better running partner.”

Beacon Bingo, which operates eight bingo halls across the country, is one of the main fundraisers for CHIPS, a charity set up on behalf of the casino and gaming industry, which provides specialised wheelchairs for children and young people.

Each powered wheelchair for a child costs £6,500 and are custom-made for each youngster according to their needs.

In total CHIPS has raised over £1,650,000 to date and presented over 480 wheelchairs to children throughout the UK.

To help Norman and Asha reach their gold of transforming the life of a child visit mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/normantreacy1