This month will herald the return of Murphy, the bright pink running BRND WGN mascot who raises money for Hospice Malta. Murphy became something of a local celebrity last year, when he raced in both the University Ring Road Races and the Vodafone Malta Marathon, all the while adorned head to toe in a shocking pink morph suit.

The flash of pink zooming past at these events certainly worked, as Murphy raised a total of €1,061 in 2016 through the online campaign set up by the Malta University Holding Company (MUHC) on Malta's only crowdfunding platform, ZAAR.

This year Murphy will, for the second year running, be using ZAAR to help him reach a new fund-raising record of €1,200. The user-friendly structure on ZAAR, and the ease in which people can make online donations via the site, leaves Murphy free to focus on the challenge of beating his "personal best" at today's 2017 Vodafone Malta Marathon.

ZAAR manager Matthew Caruana said: "We are thrilled to be welcoming Murphy back to ZAAR for another year, to help him and his team raise much-needed funds for Hospice Malta. ZAAR - as a crowdfunding and social platform - really comes alive when it is used for campaigns such as this, as it mobilises people to become involved with a cause they truly believe in. We are confident that ZAAR will once again help Murphy to surpass his fund-raising goal."

Murphy has also enlisted some friends to help him achieve this year's target, who will support him through training as well as on the big day. One of Murphy's crew, marketing assistant at MUHC Hannah Pace, is delighted to be making a difference again through their fund-raising. "Murphy Runs for Hospice Malta was a huge success in 2016; it started off as a bit of fun and turned into something so much bigger. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support we received from the general public and hope that 2017 will be no different."

On Sunday, 12 March, Murphy and company will also take part in the sixth edition of the BRND WGN & University Ring Road Races, where the MUHC team aims to raise even more funds for Hospice Malta, with half the proceeds of the races being donated to help the continuation of vital Hospice services.

This year, Murphy and his friends will be raising funds specifically for Crises Intervention Support at Home, through Hospice Malta. This service provides coordinated care and support at home, temporarily relieving caregiving responsibilities of informal carers through the use of planned home support during times of crises for either the patient or the carer.

This new service is invaluable for Hospice patients and their families and is provided free of charge thanks to the fund-raising efforts of those like Murphy, MUHC and BRND WGN.

Visitors are invited to click on the Murphy Returns to Run for Hospice Malta page on Zaar.com.mt to learn more about the project and cause. Readers are also invited to like the ZAAR page on Facebook.

For more information visit www.ZAAR.com.mt