A very big thankyou to everybody that has sponsored me, a wonderful response to a very worthwhile cause. I am now starting towards next years total so please carry on donating it is desperately needed.
I am pleased to say The Brighton Marathon was completed, the hills and the hot sun meant I was pleased with my time of 5hours 50 minutes but it was very hard. No I will not be doing another one! A big thank you to the supporters that came on the day you made a massive difference.
Why did I do it?
I hate running anything over 400m. I have played sports most of my life and then became a Rugby referee. Having been inactive for a year I needed a challenge. For Christmas 2008 I was given a treadmill and the challenge was set to run a marathon for my 60th birthday. I have been training since Christmas 2008.
Which charity? That was easy: The Dame Vera Llynn Trust
My soon to be three year old grandaughter Jennifer suffers from a rare genetic disorder that makes it very difficult for her to control her muscles. Thanks to the massive help she receives from The Dame Vera Lynn School she can now walk with support and crawl. On Boxing Day she amazed us all by crawling to the middle of the room and raised the box with her teeth in a similar way to the other competitors(see picture). She cannot talk properly yet but has a massive vocabulary of signs and an increasing number of words. Mentally she is as sharp as a button and she will talk and walk properly with all the help she is receiving. She continues to amaze us and always smiles.
After a lot of thought I raised my target to £7,500, I will not be satisfied unless I raise the amount of money needed to look after a child for a few hours each week for a year. The £7,500 I hope to raise is the amount it costs to look after a child for a year, every little bit helps!
A few words from Jennifers mum.
The Dame Vera Lynn Trust is a school in Sussex which helps children with Cerebral Palsy and similar conditions. It has a "School for Parents", which Jennifer has been attending since January 2009. She has weekly 3 hour sessions there, which includes intensive physiotherapy (helping with crawling and walking), and learning skills such as independent feeding and drinking. She also spends time painting and making something each week. Jennifer loves these sessions - she attends with 4 other children in her class and, I have to say that I do not think she would be doing as well as she is today without having attended this school.
The school is a Trust, and relies 100% on voluntary contributions - a lot of money is raised through various fund-raising activities. If you are able to support David in his marathon by sponsoring him I would be very grateful.
Please give as generously as you can to enable The Dame Vera Llynn School to continue to help Jennifer and her friends.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
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.
So please dig deep and donate now.
