Dear friends, 

It is not often we ask those we know to make a charitable donation on our behalf, it is rarer yet that we should sign ourselves up for any strenuous exercise commitment, however, this is what we are doing...!

THE WHY: In Celebration of Marc Lebe (9th June 1995 – 21st February 2017)

Camp Simcha is a Charity that Jonathan has been deeply involved in for over a decade, primarily in the capacity of ‘Big Brother’ to one of their former service users Marc Lebe. Sadly, we lost Marc this year after his 21 challenging years fighting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Jonathan had the privilege of accompanying Marc on Camp Simcha's summer programs in upstate New York for a number of years, acting as his full-time carer for the duration of the trip. 

When Talia joined the family, Marc became her 'little brother' too and both he and Family Lebe welcomed her with love and warmth. We enjoyed taking our girls (Marley & Zohara) to regularly spend time with them at their home in Bushey and also in Ravenswood village, where Marc happily lived towards the end of his life until his recent passing.  We learned and gained so much from Marc and his incredible family. They have given us more than we were ever able to give to them, and so naturally it is to Camp Simcha that we owe a lifelong debt of gratitude.

Although our days of volunteering with the children of Camp Simcha are over, our recognition of the amazing work that the organisation does is not. Through our fundraising efforts, we need to ensure that others are afforded the same opportunities for love, growth and light that Camp Simcha brought to the lives of Marc and his extended family. We also need to ensure continuity for the Camp Simcha volunteers (and the specific costs associated with them) who give their time to love and care for the children and families of Camp Simcha. 

Thanks to the charitable donations made to Camp Simcha in the past, we were given the chance to make a difference. Now it is our turn to ensure that sufficient funds are raised so that new generations are encouraged to give, are enabled to share and empowered to grow.

THE WHAT: Yosemite Trek 19th April 2018

We have accepted a challenge unlike any either of us has attempted before. for 5 days, we will trek through the hottest, driest National Park in the USA and tackle Yosemite’s challenging ascents, the equivalent of climbing more than two Empire State Buildings to the tops of Yosemite’s multiple waterfalls. 

This strenuous trek will be a real physical and mental challenge for us both and is likely to push us to our limits; it is our opportunity to recognize the astounding work of Camp Simcha and to celebrate our love and respect for Marc's family who carry his legacy. We ask you, our friends and family to help us raise money to honour the memory of our 'little brother' who we sorely miss - Marc Lebe.

THE WHO: Camp Simcha 

Camp Simcha provides a range of practical and emotional support services to families coping with serious childhood illness When a child is diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening illness the whole family’s world is shattered. It is not just the child and their parents who are impacted, but also siblings, grandparents and extended family as overnight their world changes and ‘normal’ family life is wiped out. This is where Camp Simcha steps in with their wide range of over 20 practical, emotional and therapeutic support services which are specifically designed to help put families back together again. Camp Simcha has 13 family liaison officers delivering 8,500 hours of care per year to 1,000 family members they directly support. Their services impact the lives of over 8,000 children throughout the UK. 

Many thanks for your generous support!

Much love,

'Team Spitzer-Klein'