Thank you for being curious, 'A Year to Hear'.....Please, read on.......

March 5th 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of our Father's death, he sadly passed away after suffering an aneurysm whilst walking his beloved dog Spike, however it was the genetic hearing disorder that he suffered with, leaving him with under 50% hearing in one ear and even less in the other. The challenges he faced due to his hearing loss were not only visible with the hearing aids he wore but also mental and emotional and at that time getting help wasn't as accessible as it is today.

With all this in mind, my sister Allie and I have decided to complete a number of physical challenges in his memory spanning the course of 1 year (October 1st 2015 - September 30th 2016) to raise £4000 for two different charities that raise money & awareness of deafness & hearing loss; 'Action on Hearing Loss' and 'Hearing Dogs for Deaf People'.

Action on Hearing Loss (formerly R.N.I.D):

Our mission remains as clear as ever - we want a world where hearing loss doesn’t limit or label people, where tinnitus is silenced – and where people value and look after their hearing. 

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People:

To offer greater independence, confidence and companionship to deaf people by providing dogs trained to alert them to chosen everyday sounds.

Why:

Raising awareness of these issues is critical in helping sufferers like Dad feel less isolated, because until everyone understands the extent to which hearing loss can damage people’s lives, costing jobs and relationships, causing isolation and depression, it’s easily seen as a minor inconvenience & it not only affects adults but children too, who are likely to miss out on critical developmental stages of their life.

What we're doing:

Our first 'physical' challenge will be 'Operation: Skyrace' on December 13th (the day before what would've been Dads 76th birthday) at Heron Tower where we'll be running up 39 floors/nearly 1000 steps to reach the top of the City of London's tallest building. It could be a very sore Christmas!

Throughout the year & in the lead up to the first challenge Allie and I will host a variety of mini Minns fundraisers to boost the growing total. Watch this space...

We have also agreed to let YOU nominate a challenge for us! If you sponsor a minimum of £30, we'll consider your challenge. If we complete it, we'll ask for your permission to tag you in our updates on social media to spread the word far and wide-and get more challenges!! All for the fun of it-ha!

Realistic challenges ONLY will be considered (i.e-no nakedness/10 marathons in a week etc). If you caught Allie's video on Facebook of her rollerskating (in)ability, maybe you'd challenge her to skate for 5 miles or maybe you'd love to see me embrace my vertigo by abseiling down The Shard.

Either way you can follow our progress here, on Facebook and our blog & feel part of the sweat, exhaustion, trips, stumbles, 'disagreements', excitement and hopefully joy!

So GET INVOLVED! What are you waiting for? Any donations or messages of support are gratefully received, thank you very much.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.