It was Jonathan's idea. "How do you fancy paddling from Bath to Godalming?" Well, it's too mad to say no to, isn't it? We're off on June 5th, dragging ourselves by our arms 20 miles a day for 7 days. By the end of that we're going to look like Greek Gods. Or used teabags. It's hard to know. We've only paddled 20 miles once.
So to add a little sense, we'd love it if you could help us raise money for Orbit Shed.
Orbit Shed brings together lots of children of all abilities and backgrounds to work together, appreciate each other, gain confidence and create great theatre. Seeing the children, some quite profoundly disabled, acting, moving and supporting each other on stage is really quite moving. I’ve seen many a tear in the audience, and not just from the parents. And like all things, it requires money. Because they are so good there’s often a funder who will support the big events, which is great. But finding funding that they are allowed to use for the vital but dull things between shows that they need, like rent and insurance and materials for props, is proving nigh on impossible. Without money coming in for these things they can't keep going. Sharon, Neil's wife, has been doing her bit as chair of Trustees for years. Our turn now. We’d love to raise £3000 which will help them keep safe and growing.
So help please. Your donation can really help. You can be sure we'll be thinking of you (probably at about 15-18 miles in :-)) and you know it's going towards something that makes kids and grown-ups smile.
And recognising the value of advertising space on Formula 1 cars, we're prepared to go the same way! Get in touch, and for the right price we'll put your company/organisation logo on the boats/ our chests and we'll arrange photos on/in/beside the water along the way that you can use to show how you support good things.
Jonathan is unleashing the power of modern media with a blog - so you can now keep track of the anxious preparations, the laughs, spills and probably in due course blisters too - http://neil-and-jonathan.blogspot.com/
And as the JustGiving team say...Remember: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never share them with anyone or send you unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. They'll make sure Gift Aid (an additional 28%) is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer, too. That means more money goes to the charity, faster, with JustGiving.
So please dig as deep as you fancy and donate now.