Hello!!

Thank you for visiting my JustGiving page. This year I have been lucky enough (or unfortunate enough!) to bag a place to run the London Marathon, something that I have wanted to do for years and years! Not only will I be undertaking a life long ambition but I will be doing it for a very very very worthy cause! I am going to be running in aid of SCCWID, Sophie's Campaign For The Children's Ward For Interesting Things To Do (see the website for further information http://www.sccwid.com/). I am a Senior Staff Nurse on Melanie's Ward at the Children's Hospital in Oxford. Here we look after children with a variety of conditions and injuries with the one common theme being that everyone cared for here is an adolescent (12-16 years old). As you can imagine, being in hospital at any age is quite a daunting prospect, but during the time of adolescense, a time renowned for being one of change, experimentation and transition, being in hospital at this age can be all the more challenging and difficult to comprehend. This is why SCCWID is such an important charity to Melanie's Ward. They raise money to buy "fun" things for the ward, like laptops, computers, tv's, wireless internet, magazine subscriptions, art and craft materials, things to make being in hosiptal slightly more bearable and most importantly giving the adolescents the ability to stay in touch with their friends. I cannot begin to describe how much these facilities make a difference to the adolescents we care for. It's amazing how much a recovery can be sped up with the thought of a Playstation or laptop to play on! It also gives an opportunity for adolescents to bond, break the ice and get to know each other, providing much needed peer support for one another; a great many friendships have been formed over a game of Wii bowling thanks to SCCWID!

So why support me and my chosen charity? Adolescents are a huge part of our society and unfortunately are not always represented in the best light by the media. However from my experience working on this ward, this representation is of the minority within this group. The majority of adolescents are warm kind, considerate, brave kids. A lot of them are going through things they shouldn't have to experience at such an age, and they cope with it with a strong and supportive manner and are a credit to their peers. This is why I believe they should benefit from
the facilities that SCCWID provide when in hospital, to make that daunting stay a little more bearable. So have a heart, dig deep and help make an adolescent's stay in hospital a little bit brighter!

Thanks!!

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.