Magic Breakfast President & Trustee Alan Mak carrying Olympic Torch in Yorkshire

Magic Breakfast’s President and Trustee Alan Mak has been selected as a London 2012 Olympic Torchbearer. He will be carrying the Torch at 11.15AM on 20th June 2012 in the Yorkshire market town of Bedale (on Market Place & Bridge Street) just a few miles from his home town of York, on Day 33 of the nationwide Torch Relay.

Alan was selected because of his outstanding work for Magic Breakfast, which currently provides a free, healthy breakfast to 6,000 British primary school children every morning in 210 schools, including in his home county of Yorkshire. Alan got involved with Magic Breakfast because he suffered from child hunger himself and has worked tirelessly to raise public and political awareness of the issue and to raise much needed funds for the charity. For example, Alan ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon raising £2,500 for the charity and personally sponsors part of the Magic Breakfast club at his local primary school in Tower Hamlets, London where he is a governor, feeding 25 hungry children every morning.

Alan is recognised as a "Local Hero who goes the extra mile" by Samsung, the sponsor of the Olympic Torch Relay who chose Alan as a torchbearer for his exceptional contribution to the community. Carrying the Torch comes on the back of a great year for Magic Breakfast itself: we won the Prime Minister's Big Society Award in September 2011 for outstanding charities and we expanded our corporate supporter and schools base to reach more children than ever before.

Alan Mak, Magic Breakfast’s President and Trustee, said, "I'm very proud to be carrying the Olympic Torch in Yorkshire on behalf of Magic Breakfast. I hope my involvement will raise awareness of Magic Breakfast's fight against child hunger and poverty in the UK. Magic Breakfast is a fantastic charity bringing together parents, teachers, businesses and local communities to tackle child hunger, fight poverty and give children a better start in life. The children, parents and teachers we work with are a great inspiration to me and I'll be thinking of them when I carry the Torch in front of many good friends and neighbours in my home county of Yorkshire."

Carmel McConnell, Magic Breakfast’s Founder Director said, “Everyone at Magic Breakfast is delighted that Alan’s outstanding work for Magic Breakfast fighting child hunger and poverty has been recognised. Magic Breakfast’s innovative approach builds winning partnerships with schools, parents, teachers, businesses and local communities. It has been proven to improve attendance, punctuality, concentration and behaviour for just 22p per child per day. We know our model works and we now aim to reach more business partners to help us remove hunger as a barrier to educational access in this country for good.  Alan’s selection as an Olympic Torchbearer will hopefully inspire all children to aim high, and energise us as a charity as we step up the fight against child hunger and poverty in the UK.”

Here are suggestions on ways you can be part of Alan’s Olympic Torch bearing experience and support Magic Breakfast:

Other ways to get involved

1. Book Alan to bring the Torch into your primary school, office or community group
2. If you are interested in supporting Magic Breakfast in any way – get in touch! Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
3. “Like” the Magic Breakfast Facebook page to show your support for our fight against child hunger
4. Check back on Wed 20 June at 12 noon for an exclusive blog from Alan describing what it felt like to carry the Torch!

To contact Alan or Carmel, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 020 7836 5434