Great reasons to run put spring in your step; On the run to help others.

IF you didn't win a place in the Great North Run, or would like to support a charity using your official place, here's a selection of great causes that need your help.

Barnardo's Barnardo's believes in the potential of every child and young person, no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through.

In the North East, the charity works with about 11,000 children, young people and their families each year, with all 12 North East local authorities. It provides more than 40 services.

The charity's services are diverse, reflecting the many difficult circumstances children and young people find themselves in.

It offers help and support when a child or young person's future is under threat - be it from homelessness, drugs, sexual abuse, disability, education, parenting, unemployment, prejudice or emotional problems.

The charity also uses its expertise and knowledge to campaign for better care for children and is proud to champion the rights of every child. Please visit www.barnardos.org.uk to find out more and consider joining Barnardo's

Great North Run team.

CAFOD CAFOD is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.

The charity works in 64 countries to reduce poverty and improve lives in some of the poorest communities.

This year the charity will be taking a team of 300 runners to the Great North Run on September 20 - its biggest team yet.

And the organisation hopes to raise more than pounds 80,000 through this year's event.

The charity is setting each runner the challenge of raising pounds 275 - enough, for example, to provide one month's salary for a midwife in rural Sudan.

It will also be providing all runners with a CAFOD running vest, sponsorship pack and posters to promote their run, cheering materials for friends and family and hospitality in the charity village after the race.

If you would like to join Team CAFOD in this year's run, please call Helen on [phone] or email [e-mail].

Children's Liver Disease Foundation As you read this, two more families will have received the devastating news that their child has a potentially life-threatening liver disease.

Their lives have been shattered and will never be the same again.

Children's Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) immediately picks up the pieces, giving thousands of families hope for the future.

CLDF is the country's lead charity supporting medical research into all childhood liver disease, which strikes more families than childhood leukaemia.

It also acts as an information hub for healthcare professionals and the general public and provides a tailored support service for young people with liver disease and their families. A liver disease can strike any child at any age through no fault of theirs or their parents. By running for CLDF at this year's Great North Run you can make a difference to these children's lives.

For more information visit www.childliverdisease.org or contact [phone].

The Anthony Nolan Trust This charity has been taking lives back from leukaemia since 1974 by running the most successful bone marrow register in the UK, and the first in the world.

It saves two lives every day of the year, but there are still 16,000 people worldwide desperately in need of a transplant and more than 1,400 are in the UK.

Newcastle-born sisters Paula and Nikki Longbottom and Smooth FM DJ Mark Goodier all completed last year's Great North Run and raised vital funds for the trust.

The cause is close to the sisters' hearts, as in 2002 Nikki donated her bone marrow to save Paula's life.

Why not join Paula and Mark in the 2009 team and help the charity save even more lives? They will support you with your training and fundraising right through until race day, when you can celebrate your achievement with refreshments and a massage in the charity marquee.

Register online at www.anthonynolan.org.uk/fundraising, or contact Charlotte on (020) 7)284-8284 or email [e-mail]

Deafblind UK Established in 1928, Deafblind UK is a national charity offering people with combined sight and hearing loss practical and emotional support, advice and guidance to help with daily living.

Deafblindness is one of the most challenging disabilities that a person can endure, and has been described as the "loneliest condition in the world".

In the North East Deafblind UK provides homecare assistance, communicator guides, rehabilitation and interpreter support through a network of Independent Living Teams, making its services accessible to more deafblind people, their families and carers.

Deafblind UK has secured places in the Great North Run and the Great North Swim and would like to hear from keen individuals who would like to take on one of these challenges.

To secure your place on either event, call Kelly on [phone] or email: [e-mail] DELTA - Deaf Education through Listening and Talking.

WAITING to hear a child say his or her first word is something that every parent should be able to get excited about.

It is a precious moment of a parent's life - teaching their child how to talk.

However, for some families it might not be as straightforward as it is for others.

DELTA is a national charity that supports and develops the natural aural approach to the education of deaf children. With modern hearing aids and cochlear implants, the vast majority of deaf children can learn to listen and talk. and DELTA believes this option should be available to all deaf children. DELTA provides information and support for families across the country who wants to help their deaf children listen and talk. It also runs summer schools for the whole family.

DELTA has charity places for GNR. If you are keen to run in the GNR this year and would like to help families of deaf children who are learning to listen and talk., then please contact the charity on 08451 081 437 or send an email to [e-mail]. RSPB Each year the RSPB needs to raise more than pounds 80m. It's only with supporters that it can raise this money, which enables the organisation to continue its conservation work saving wildlife and habitats. The Great North Run is a fantastic activity to raise money for the RSPB. RSPB runners will be provided with: A running vest Compelling stories about the work of the RSPB Story cards about the RSPB to give to your sponsors A fundraising pack full of useful hints and tips Support from your local fundraiser Running tips The money raised from the Great North Run could enable RSPB to continue running its 200 nature reserves - home to some of the UK's most rare birds and animals - restore rainforests in Sumatra, plant native woodlands or campaign to protect UK seas.

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WORTHWHILE The mammoth race raises a fortune for good causes, even in tough times. GET NOTICED The Great North Run is always a colourful occasion.