Hi and thanks for visiting my JustGiving page.
Hopefully you will have heard about ‘The Katie Piper Foundation’ from the media, particularly through the two Channel 4 documentaries ‘Katie: My Beautiful Face’ and ‘Katie: My Beautiful Friends’. Well this is the charity that I’m supporting.
Katie was an ambitious young lady working as an extra on EastEnders, Ashes To Ashes and Hotel Babylon and as well as forming a modeling career. However, in March 2008 that all changed when Katie was the victim of an acid attack which nearly ended her life. Since then she has gone through a lot of treatment to not only rebuild her injured body but also to help her adjust and cope. Her bravery following this trauma has been an inspiration to others (she was one of the Daily Mail's inspirational ‘Women of the Year’) and won her a number of awards. Katie feels that one of the critical contributors to her recovery was the 15 weeks she spent receiving specialist treatment at the Centre Ster clinic in France. This not only helped the physical scarring but it also started to heal her mentally and emotionally, improving her self-confidence and self-belief as well as coping with the changes required to rebuild her life.
Such treatment is not yet available in the UK and so Katie has set up ‘The Katie Piper Foundation’ to enable other burns victims to receive similar care and support. In the short term, this is to provide extended rehabilitation for people with burns as well as acceptance of disfigurement in society. Ultimately, the aim is to provide an advanced rehabilitation and burns clinic in the UK, similar to that at Centre Ster. You can find out more information at: www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk
So, I and a group of friends got together to see what we could do to support the Foundation achieve its aims. In September of this year we cycled 329 miles in six days from Bordeaux to Sète, France (the latter being the home of the Centre Ster clinic). We will be following the 'Canal de Garonne' and ‘Canal du Midi’, almost from coast to coast through France (from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea).
The ride, whilst starting off well, was harder than expected with the track deteriorating each day until by day 4 it was no more than a dusty, dirt track with tree roots and tree stumps to dodge in termperatures of around 34 degC. However, we did it and in doing so have raised the profile of the Foundation and so far raised more than £6500! Anyway, its not too late to reward the effort by sponsoring me and we can help the Foundation in the tremendous job they do of providing care and support for people like you and I who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in such life changing circumstances. So, go on sponsor me!
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.
Others taking part in the challenge are:
Marcus Hardimann: www.justgiving.com/Marcus-Hardiman0
Tony & Caroline Mekke: www.justgiving.com/CarolineMekky
Dave Barnatt: www.justgiving.com/David-Barnatt
Kim & Dougie Henney: www.justgiving.com/Douglas-Henney
