Hello people, James and Gareth here (AKA the Cotton brothers). We urgently need your help to raise £2000 for girls' education charity Camfed before next weekend. We are both running as part of Camfed's  team in the the British 10km London Road Race on Sunday July 6th.

We know times are tough right now - what with the sub-prime market collapse, global recession, the fuel crisis, relentless consumer spending, unprecedented family debt.... anyway you get the picture.

However hard times get for us, there is always someone in a tougher position. We're sure you will agree that you wouldn't be where you are today without a decent education. Just imagine not being able to spell, do arithmetic, understand simple hygiene...In most of Africa, education is a privilege, not a right and millions of girls are denied the chance of a better future because the costs of education are just too high for families to afford.

Luckily Camfed, the organisation founded and run by our Mum, is here to help and last year they supported over half a million children and young people in Africa. Check out their website at www.camfed.org. It really is a great cause so please get out your credit/debit cards and give as generously as you can.

This the second time we have run the race together and this time we are going to up the stakes. Recording a joint time of 48:07 (minutes not hours) in 2005, this time we are aiming to finish under 45 mins. We'll post an update after the race here.

Thanks in advance guys.

And now a short message from our *platform providers*:

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Camfed gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Come on, you've read this far - give us your dosh.