Dear Supporter

I hope my story below will encourage you to make a donation to the charity I have chosen – CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity – and might even motivate you to embark on your own charity challenge.

In early April ’09 my family – my wife Heather and our two daughters Kirsten and Georgi – were joined on holiday by some good friends of ours – John and Sarah Keppel, together with their two young girls. All of us fit and healthy, beautiful carefree families, with the big issues for us being – what’s for breakfast, the weather, the state of the economy, politics, sport and so on – nothing really big in the grand scheme of things. We were having a cup of coffee in the morning, and John told me about an extraordinary adventure he was embarking on, and the reason he was doing it.  Very shortly after John told me about the adventure, but much more importantly – why he was doing it – I agreed to join the expedition. This is why I am joining, and why I want you to support me in my efforts and make any size donation you possibly can in support of me to CLIC Sargent.

The adventure is an 11 day Charity Challenge (by the same people who arranged the red nose day climb up Kilimanjaro) mountain bike cycle from theAndes Mountains to the Amazon basin, from September 10^th to 20^th 2009.  Considering that I have never mountain biked in my life, and am not at all cycling fit, I have some personal challenges to address before I leave!  Please go the charity challenge website to have a look at the journey; it is inspiring, breathtaking, and deeply worrying! 

http://www.charitychallenge.co.uk/cc/charitychallenge/expedition_details.jsp?id=1005

John told me the story about his close friends, whose two year old little girl was diagnosed in 2007 with a rare and extremely viscous form of cancer called Neuroblastoma.  During the last 18 months this little girl has undergone regular Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy treatments and a bone marrow replacement. The toll all this treatment has had on her little body is immense but John told me she has continued to fight and smile her way through everything with a courage that would put most of us to shame. Very sadly, the most recent news is that the doctors now consider her condition incurable.  John told me about the incredible support that CLIC Sargent had given his friends through-out this absolutely awful time, and that without CLIC Sargent his friends would have been in an even more desperate position – if that’s possible!  John and a group of friends decided to raise as much money for CLIC Sargent as they could.

Hearing this made me think a lot as I tried to imagine what it would be like if I was the father of a child with cancer. When I looked around and saw my beautiful healthy children playing happily and having a normal life.  It made realise again how much we always take for granted, and how fine the lines are between happiness,sadness and devastation. It made me realise that without charities like CLIC Sargent many many people would have an already completely desperate situation made even worse, devoid of both financial and emotional support at a time when both are most needed.  Just imagine what it would be like if your child had cancer, and you had spent all your money trying to cure it, and could no longer afford any more. I decided to do something to help raise money for CLIC Sargent, and have joined the challenge.

So, now I ask you to please support me, and make a donation.  Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: CLIC Sargent gets your money faster and, if you’re a UKtaxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Thanks very much in advance for your support.  Please come back and visit this website as I will keep it updated as I progress my preparation!

 

Sincerely

Anthony Higgins