Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. In 2011, I am taking part in the Great Wall of China Trek in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

MND is a degeneration of the motor neurones which leads to wasting of muscles, causing increasing loss of mobility in the limbs and difficulties with speech, swallowing and breathing. At the moment THERE IS NO CURE!!!

 My partner, Nick Smith was diagnosed with this cruel disease in 2003. He went from being an active young man to being totally dependent on me; still with an active mind but unable to communicate. Nick sadly passed away in August 2007 at the age of just 35.

I have decided on this challenge not only in Nick's memory but also to raise awareness of this devasting disease. The money raised will fund research projects to bring hope for a future without MND.

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.

No one deserves to die like this so please please give as much as you can to help raise awareness and support MND by helping to find a CURE.

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule, as you can see I have a challenging target so anything at all you can donate would be very much appreciated.

Sarah xx

Sunday 7th March 2010

Last night my very good friends Yvonne and Julie and I held a 'race night' to raise money towards my target. The event was kindly sponsored by Specsavers Stockton where I work which meant that all the money raised did go towards the China Trek Challenge.

With the help of friends and family getting prizes from local businesses we held a very successful raffle, a round of applause to Julie who sold over 2 books!!!! Dont know what she promised them but it worked!!!

A massive thank you to Yvonne who not only helped organise the event from the start but on the night also managed to sell the betting slips for all 6 races!!! She did this whilst enjoying her lager too, fantastic!!!

The evening was an overwhelming success and am sure Nick was looking down at the chaos with a smile.....

          The final total came to staggering £1583.00!!!!!!!

So once again, a huge thank you to everyone who helped us to achieve this amazing amount and I will keep you updated with anymore future events.....

Saturday 1st May 2010

Today the local Evening Gazette ran our story, a full 2 page spread including cheesy photo's!! For some reason I can't put a link on here but if you enter www.northeastgazette.co.uk and enter my name in the search criteria you should be able to find it.

The main photo isn't shown online but it is of me holding my walking boots aloft! My mam sent this photo off to Hawkshead asking for a donation as I would be wearing their boots and instead of money they are going to give me some suitable clothing! Bonus!!

I have some more charity events coming up so will keep you posted.

Sunday 25th July 2010

We raised £150 today at the Cowpen Bewley Woodland Fete, with face painting (massive thanks to Yvonne & Dom!!) Guess the TeddyBears name and many more! A good day :))

Wenesday 28th July 2010

Kate and I held a successful tombola at Pier 22 Cafe, Stockton. With local offices close by we managed to raise £162 and had a lot of laughs too :))

Friday 27th August

We certainly earned the money we raised today!! Bag packing in Morrison's, Darlington, tired us all out. A huge thankyou to Mam, Dad, Dom, Sylvia, Ron, Heather (Kate's Mam) Uncle Brian, Amanda, Nikki, Julie and Liz.....We worked hard for 6 hours and raised just under £700!!!

5th September                                             

My very good friend Sarah Tuffin and her husband Damian completed the Middlesbrough 10k run in a very respectable time of 1hr21min!!! They both raised an incredible £215 and wore the MND vests to raise awareness. Thank you so much for all your hard training!!!

17th October

A big thank you to Nick's Mam, Marjorie, and all her friends who have sponsored me. The total raised coming to a generous £150.

10th November

I would like to say a huge thank you to Nick's work colleagues at Cavendish Northern, Billingham who generously sponsored me, raising a massive £420.00

January 2011

Nick's parents Marjorie and Geoff generously donated £1000, hoping there will be a future without MND.

May 2011

Well I did it! Not only raised over £4000 but completed the Great Wall of China Trek Challenge! The experience was amazing, something that I will never forget. The emotional challenge was just as difficult as the physical but as a team we all got through it with everyone helping each other.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your generous donations, your help with fundraising and most importantly your support these last few years, I couldn't have achieved this without you.

Sarah x x