Ok so another page asking for sponsorship right.... Well yes if you are reading this then I am asking you for some money. Im running the Reading Half Marathon in March and the London Marathon in April 2011. I haven’t plucked some faceless charity from a list and thought “yeah they will do” I have chosen this charity because of someone I know...

Darren is a regular guy, married  to Marisha with two beautiful young children and a pet dog... . Darren was diagnosed with a brain tumour and after the turmoil of the initial shock, the surgery and the long road to recovery he was given the all clear... It had gone, after the pain of the previous few months he could start looking forward to his healthy future with his loved ones, that was until earlier this year he started to have breathing difficulties. Initially the doctors thought it was a chest infection until they received a bombshell that Darren had lung cancer and it was terminal.

After the joy of recovering from one illness to be hit so hard with another so soon has been very hard and extremely difficult for everyone which was compounded by the chemotherapy Darren had to go through.

Family events have been so important even the simplest days out have a lot more significance than before. The Willow Foundation is a charity that provide experiences for young adults with terminal illness. Darren and Marisha asked the charity if they could get Lion King show tickets in London as they thought it would be lovely for the whole family to go... the Willow Foundation sorted out everything and also sent a stretched limo for the day too.  Marisha sent this to me...

It wasn't a day about Darren being terminally ill, or cancer or chemo...but a day to escape all that, and enjoy the limited family time we have left....And when you've got 101 things buzzing round in your mind, for someone to organise the whole thing to the point that all we had to do was be ready when the Limo arrived....it was just wonderful.  We thoroughly enjoyed our day and it really gave us all a much needed boost at a difficult time.....

I know financially we are all stretched but please give whatever you can to help either Darren have another great day out or another family who want to spend those precious limited time they have.

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.

http://www.willowfoundation.org.uk/Home