Some of you may know I like a challenge...well, this is the biggest and best yet! So thanks for spending a few minutes to hear what I'm doing and why. And if it encourages you to donate, well even better!

On the 1st June 2012 I will be part of a team of 35 Lloyds Banking Group colleagues flying to Kathmandu to start our trek to Everest Base Camp and the toughest challenge of our lives. I seriously have no idea what to expect (my current source of information is Michael Palin's Himalayas so things could be worse!) but am researching / training like crazy. The only thing that's hard for me to control is hitting my fund raising target... and this is where you come in!

If you want to know more about why I'm doing this please click on the video clip in my gallery to see what a difference your donation can make to kids in the UK's most deprived areas.

Families and Schools Together (FAST) is an award-winning project that boosts the chances of kids in the UK's most deprived areas by supporting parents to improve their children's learning and development at home, so they can reach their full potential at school. 

I'm sure most of you know the JustGiving drill but if this is your first time, here's what you do:

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

I know there will be numerous requests like this reaching you and lots of really good causes, but if you can find it in you to dig deep you will really be helping me get through the tough times when out there, as well as hugely benefiting the kids and parents in the FAST programme.

Thank you. I mean it!