Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page for Katie's Trust.

Katie McKerracher, our lovely niece from Ettrickbridge was just ten years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.   Diagnosed with a diffuse pontine glioma in February 2008, Katie very sadly lost her battle with the disease in January 2009.

The disease causes a tumour to form in the brain stem, and is so rare it affects only 35 children a year in the UK.

Inspired by their daughter's bravery and determination throughout her illness, her parents Andrew and Ann have set up a charity, The Katie McKerracher Trust, to help other families cope with the devastating impact of such an illness.

In honour of Katie's favourite holiday destination, Uist, they've organised a charity bike ride around the Isles (North, South, Benbecua and Bernary) to raise funds for the newly formed charity. 120 people from all over the country, all keen to honour Katie's memory whilst also raising money.

All the cyclists will be camping and Uist locals are doing their bit by offering everything from school halls to eat in to live music to keep them entertained in the evening. A local band, Bi Beo, are even donating a portion of the profits from their latest CD to the cause.

Whilst the Hebridean Challenge will be a fun event, there is a serious message underpinning it.

Ann, Katie's mother said: "The money raised will be used to help other families who have a child diagnosed with a diffuse pontine glioma. This is a very aggressive form of tumour, and because of where it is located in the brain it can't be operated on.

Children suffering from the disease can deteriorate very rapidly, and sometimes the type of help needed isn't always available quickly enough.

"Through the charity we hope to offer not just practical help, but also emotional support and information to families who are dealing with the shock of such a diagnosis. It's such a rare illness that there isn't much information out there, and we want to be able to help bridge that gap in whatever way we can."

Hazel and Marcus want to raise as much money as they can since this is a direct action charity which will help those families which are affected by this cancer.

Katie was a keen and great dancer and Ann and Andrew have also wanted a small amount of the money raised to go towards supporting dancers in the borders.

The following link will let you keep up with how the charity is going.  In particular it has 'News Flashes' detailing how they are distributing the money raised together with other exciting developments such as Katie's tartan being worn at the 'Dressed to Kilt' fashion event  in New York soon.  For those  who love Facebook and Twitt you can find lots of information at www.katiemckerrachertrust.co.uk

We understand that you may have many requests of this type and we hope you are able to donate a small amount to this charity. 

Thank you from Hazel, Marcus and Charlie Dog too.  XXX

The rest is a paragraph from Justgiving to let you know the donating process.

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