Annual fundraising memory walk to remember Marley Asher Adeshino Prescott held

The annual MARLEY'S 8KM Memory Walk took place this weekend on the 2nd of December with around 50 people taking part, the highest number ever.

The walk is hosted by Marley’s Aart Foundation which was founded by Jennifer Prescott in memory of her son Marley Asher Adeshino Prescott, who passed away in 2020. The foundation supports children and young people with social and anxiety disorders by helping them access art therapy and the annual walk helps to fundraise for it.

Art therapy for individuals and groups has been provided at Queensbury Academy, part of Anthem Schools Trust, thanks to fundraising by the foundation. The foundation has also partnered with CHUMS Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Service for children and young people provides therapeutic support in a variety of ways, they funded a Mental Health Workshop with CHUMS earlier this year, which parents and children attended. Marley's Aart also provided goodie bags for the children to have something tangible to take away and act as a reminder of the pleasant experience of using art therapy to express themselves.

The first walk was in 2021 and followed paths that Marley frequently took, starting from Queensbury Academy, his former secondary school, heading into Dunstable town centre and following some of his paper routes before concluding at his primary school. Supporters of the foundation in different ten locations across five countries also completed 8KM walks on the day in weather conditions that were snowy, icy and foggy.

Donations to the foundation are welcome via their JustGiving Page or their website.

Helen Palmer, Headteacher at Queensbury Academy said:

“Everyone at Queensbury is so grateful to Jennifer and the foundation for providing art therapy for our students. Her work following Marley’s passing has been incredible and the annual memory walk is such a poignant event, allowing people to take the time to remember all the joy that Marley brought to the world through his art.”

Jennifer Prescott, founder of Marley’s Aart Foundation said:

"Focusing on the foundation after such traumatic loss has really helped me fill some of the void that Marley left. Marley's love for art lives on through the Art Therapy funded by the foundation.”