Darren's page
Darren Pateman is raising money for Bliss
Story
Hello dear friend (random person)
On 25th April 2010 I will be running the London Marathon. Yes I know what you are thinking! Darren running the marathon is about as believable as Spurs winning the Premiership. But it is true !!!!!(me running not spurs lifting the league trophy). I will indeed be putting my already tortured body and soul through 26 miles (and 4.5 hours hopefully) of hell to raise money for BLISS (premature baby Charity)
This is a charity very close to my (and my wife Jo's) heart as our daughters, Alice and Beth, were born 10 weeks premature. They spent 7 weeks in Southend hospital special care baby Unit which was,by some margin, the most stressful and chaotic period of our lives. Without the support of BLISS I don't think we would have coped with the daily dramas or the dread of going to the hospital not knowing what horror might awaited us as we opened the ward doors. Thankfully Alice and Beth came me through this nightmare unscathed and are now cheeky,happy and beautiful 5 year old girls.
We do however recognise that not everyone is as lucky as us and this is why I implore (plead) with you to donate as much money as possible and help babies less fortunate than Alice and Beth.
Why I need your help
One in eight babies in the UK is born premature or sick – that's 82,000 babies every year. Around 20,000
of these babies need intensive care and the figure is rising. Every six minutes, a newborn baby requires
urgent specialist care. Every 24 minutes, a newborn baby requires life-saving intensive care.
Bliss is the only UK charity that helps care for premature and sick babies. We are dedicated to ensuring
that more babies not only survive, but also go on to have the best possible quality of life. We support
families, fund cutting-edge research and campaign for improved hospital resources.
How the money I raise will help Bliss
• £1 will provide text messaging support for a distressed parent
• £10 will provide telephone support for a family
• £24 will keep our Family Support Helpline working for one hour
• £60 will fund a neonatal nurse on a Bliss study day
• £100 will provide training for a Parents 4 Parents volunteer
• £500 will fund a Family Support group for a year
• £2,000 will provide a year’s worth of good practice updates to all UK neonatal units
• £2,500 will train a neonatal nurse in developmental care
• £5,000 will provide a study day and support package to 50 health visitors on supporting premature
and sick babies after discharge from hospital
• £6,000 will fund a new campaign to recruit more specialist nurses for our most vulnerable babies
• £10,000 will fund our on-line parent messageboard and text message support service for a year
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
Thanks so much for your Support
Darren