Emily champions the journey to the finish line

We think our people are pretty special. Across our service, dedicated staff and volunteers are working to help as many people as they can to find a way forward. Whoever you are, whatever your problem, we’ll help you with practical advice you can really trust, when you really need it.

We are Citizens Advice. We are the people’s champion.

We spoke to Emily about her role as Digital Marketing Manager at National Citizens Advice, and her experience of running the London Marathon for the organisation.

“There’s a lot of division on social media, but I still believe it can be used for good”

I joined Citizens Advice in 2019. I was the first person recruited to the organisation with a specific focus on digital marketing which I saw as an exciting, if not a daunting challenge!

As Digital Marketing Manager, I work with my award-winning team to look after our social media channels, paid advertising, influencers and our national awareness campaigns to reach different audiences and make sure our advice gets to the people who need it.

“My favourite thing about Citizens Advice is the people that I get to work with”

The organisation is packed with passionate people who are all united behind the purpose of the organisation — to get the right advice to people at the right time. After 7 years in the organisation, I have made a lot of friends that I know will be with me for a long time. This year, I’m even going to 2 weddings of friends I’ve made in the organisation!

I also love being a member of our softball team, the Bearos. We play in the London Charity Softball league each week to hopefully take home the trophy at the end of the season… That’s not happened yet but I think 2026 is our year. One of my proudest work moments was when I was MVP at one of our matches last season!

“I’ve learned that no idea is a bad idea”

TikTok is our biggest social media platform which I think a lot of people would be surprised by. We set up the channel in October 2020 after research showed that younger people had very little understanding about who we are or what we do. The channel grew from strength to strength and now we have over 160K followers and have increased awareness of the organisation by over 20%. We have even won 2 awards for our TikTok which was really exciting!

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“When I saw that Citizens Advice had London Marathon places for the first time this year, I knew that I needed to apply and take on this challenge”

I started running in 2023 and have run 6 half marathons, but always felt a bit nervous about doing a full marathon. But as I’ve now reached the age where people seem to either get married or run marathons, I thought I’d better give it a go.

Since I joined the organisation in 2019, I’ve always been a big advocate that we need to shout more about the fact we’re a charity, so the opportunity to do the world’s biggest charity event is a great one. Hopefully when people in the crowds see me in my Citizens Advice branded outfit, they might think to themselves ‘oh I didn’t know they were a charity’ and that’s one more person who knows!

“I like to prove to myself that I can do things that I never thought I could do — and a marathon is definitely on that list!”

The organisation makes a huge difference to people’s lives and I’ve been lucky enough to visit lots of different local Citizens Advice offices during my time here. So to be able to make a small difference through my fundraising is a real honour and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

Training during the winter was really tough, but I’m proud of myself for getting it done. I’m definitely a slower runner and one of the hardest things I found is seeing people who are much faster than me online and doubting whether I can do it.

“Finish lines, not finish times”

Getting to the end of a marathon is a huge feat whether it takes 3 or 7 hours. I had an incredible day and crossing that finish line is something that I’ll never forget. I loved seeing all my friends on the course and the energy was amazing — but 26 miles is a long way! My legs are very sore but it’s a reminder of what I’ve achieved.

If you want to support Emily’s London Marathon fundraising, you can make a donation here.