James Hanson
James Hanson's Fundraising Page
Fundraising for Headway Thames Valley
Story
Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.
I am writing to you all to ask for you to part with some of your hard earned cash for an extremely worthy cause. Before you do so please let me explain why and then I’ll tell you what Steve and I plan to do to earn your support.
Nine years ago one of my good friends, Dave, had a serious epileptic incident, it was a complete bolt out of the blue as his condition was completely undiagnosed. During the course of the incident his brain was starved of oxygen to the level that it has left him severely physically disabled and with severe short term memory loss meaning it is really difficult to learn new things or remember new people.
As a result he is 100 percent reliant on support from his family and other carers. Now aged 38 , Dave lives at home with his parents who do a remarkable job in looking after him pretty much 24/7. Those of you that know Gill and Keith will have no hesitation in agreeing with me when I say they are really wonderful people, for those that don’t know them you’re just going to have to trust me.
That said they need, and do get, some valuable support and respite to recharge their batteries, one of the organisations that helps provide this is Headway. Headway is a charity that supports people with brain injury and those that care for them. The Thames Valley Branch is based in Henley and they offer occupational therapy activities and physiotherapy to help rehabilitate and improve the quality of the lives of people with a brain injury.
Each week they hold therapy groups such as a music group, art groups and undertake projects such as computer and internet sessions. All of these have been invaluable in improving Dave’s and his parent’s quality of life. You can read more about them and their work here:
http://www.headway.org.uk/branch.asp?step=4&navid=78&branchid=94®ionid=8
Headway relies heavily on donations and volunteer staff so I can guarantee any donation you make will make a very real difference to people that need the support.
Whilst clearly the work that Headway alone does is worth the donation I am sure you are all interested to know what I am going to put myself through to earn it. Before I explain let’s be absolutely clear on one thing… I hate running. Unless there is a rugby ball involved (and even if there is one these days…) I have a phobia about running for anything other than the bus that takes me to the pub. So to help me conquer this fear I, along with Dave’s brother Steve, have signed up to run the ‘Chiltern Chase Multi Terrain 10k Run’.
http://www.chilternchase.org.uk/
Make no mistake this is no ordinary 10k road run, an article in Runners World Magazine (it does exist…) described it as one of the hardest 10k runs. To make
matters worse it is on June 1st, four weeks after I decided to enter it. It's not left a lot of time for training and even now with a week or so to go I can safely report there is a lot of work still to be done.
It would help me greatly in my training motivation but more importantly help Headway greatly if you could see fit to offer some financial support.
To give you an idea of what it will go towards here's what the money buys:
10 pounds - Would buy Art materials for 4 people with Acquired Brain Injury to complete a six week Arts & Crafts programme.
25 pounds - Would buy wood & materials for 2 people with Acquired Brain Injury to complete a six week woodwork programme
50 pounds - Would allow 3 partially sighted people to complete a six week pottery course or 8 people with Acquired Brain Injury to attend 1 session of Brain Gym
150 pounds - Would allow one person with Acquired Brain Injury to attend Riding for the disabled for one year
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Headway Thames Valley 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.
So please sponsor us now! I thank you greatly, it will be greatly appreciated.
I am writing to you all to ask for you to part with some of your hard earned cash for an extremely worthy cause. Before you do so please let me explain why and then I’ll tell you what Steve and I plan to do to earn your support.
Nine years ago one of my good friends, Dave, had a serious epileptic incident, it was a complete bolt out of the blue as his condition was completely undiagnosed. During the course of the incident his brain was starved of oxygen to the level that it has left him severely physically disabled and with severe short term memory loss meaning it is really difficult to learn new things or remember new people.
As a result he is 100 percent reliant on support from his family and other carers. Now aged 38 , Dave lives at home with his parents who do a remarkable job in looking after him pretty much 24/7. Those of you that know Gill and Keith will have no hesitation in agreeing with me when I say they are really wonderful people, for those that don’t know them you’re just going to have to trust me.
That said they need, and do get, some valuable support and respite to recharge their batteries, one of the organisations that helps provide this is Headway. Headway is a charity that supports people with brain injury and those that care for them. The Thames Valley Branch is based in Henley and they offer occupational therapy activities and physiotherapy to help rehabilitate and improve the quality of the lives of people with a brain injury.
Each week they hold therapy groups such as a music group, art groups and undertake projects such as computer and internet sessions. All of these have been invaluable in improving Dave’s and his parent’s quality of life. You can read more about them and their work here:
http://www.headway.org.uk/branch.asp?step=4&navid=78&branchid=94®ionid=8
Headway relies heavily on donations and volunteer staff so I can guarantee any donation you make will make a very real difference to people that need the support.
Whilst clearly the work that Headway alone does is worth the donation I am sure you are all interested to know what I am going to put myself through to earn it. Before I explain let’s be absolutely clear on one thing… I hate running. Unless there is a rugby ball involved (and even if there is one these days…) I have a phobia about running for anything other than the bus that takes me to the pub. So to help me conquer this fear I, along with Dave’s brother Steve, have signed up to run the ‘Chiltern Chase Multi Terrain 10k Run’.
http://www.chilternchase.org.uk/
Make no mistake this is no ordinary 10k road run, an article in Runners World Magazine (it does exist…) described it as one of the hardest 10k runs. To make
matters worse it is on June 1st, four weeks after I decided to enter it. It's not left a lot of time for training and even now with a week or so to go I can safely report there is a lot of work still to be done.
It would help me greatly in my training motivation but more importantly help Headway greatly if you could see fit to offer some financial support.
To give you an idea of what it will go towards here's what the money buys:
10 pounds - Would buy Art materials for 4 people with Acquired Brain Injury to complete a six week Arts & Crafts programme.
25 pounds - Would buy wood & materials for 2 people with Acquired Brain Injury to complete a six week woodwork programme
50 pounds - Would allow 3 partially sighted people to complete a six week pottery course or 8 people with Acquired Brain Injury to attend 1 session of Brain Gym
150 pounds - Would allow one person with Acquired Brain Injury to attend Riding for the disabled for one year
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Headway Thames Valley 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.
So please sponsor us now! I thank you greatly, it will be greatly appreciated.