Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I turn 40 at the end of January and having decided to throw a party, I thought I would use the opportunity to raise some money for the Down's South charity based in Peckham Rye. My son, George, was born last December with trisomy 21, aka, Down's Syndrome. He is the most adorable baby, smiling and laughing all the time and he's as good as gold. He has given me such joy over the past year and I just hope that Martin and I can give him what he needs in the future. So far he hasn't needed much special care, but we are reaching a stage where he's going to need additional help. He has moderate hearing loss due to glue ear, which may make it harder for him to learn to speak, something that is going to be challenging for him in any event.

We are on a waiting list to see a speech therapist at Down's South who has been recommended to us by our child health team nurse. Down's South is a small charity set up by a mother of a child with Down's Syndrome which provides a much needed service in an area where there are insufficient resources provided by the government. Unfortunately the waiting list is fairly long as there is only one therapist. They would like to recruit a second speech therapist, so any money donated through this page will help that to happen and will help George to be seen quicker.

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. There will also be collection boxes at the party on Saturday 30th January.

A big thank you to everyone for supporting us and supporting the DSL.

Kathryn x