CHECK OUT THE UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

It's a massive challenge - 10 kms in a water temperature around 14 degrees C. and I want to do it under 3 hours. Why? Because I'm committed to supporting other bereaved families find a better way of managing their grief.

How did this come about? It's simple really. Here's our story ...

In 2011, my son Joshua died in a road accident in Vietnam. In the following years his mother Jane Harris and I founded The Good Grief Project with the aim of supporting other bereaved families as they come to terms the death of a child. Jane is a psychotherapist and I'm a filmmaker / photographer / and a few other things, so it was perhaps inevitable that we found that processing grief could be a series of creative acts, something that we have now established as the heart of our programme of Active Grief Weekend retreats.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOUT THE RETREATS

Approximately 6000 young people under the age of 25 die in the UK every year leaving up to 50,000 newly bereaved close relatives and friends. Recent studies have shown that the social, psychological and financial costs of grief can be extreme. Many bereaved families report that over time they are expected to move on or put the death of their child behind them. This often results in isolation for the griever and anxieties and misunderstandings for those who care for them, an increase in alcoholism, marriage break up, loneliness, depression, poor job satisfaction - all of which amounts to a considerable but avoidable burden on the health service and on society in general.

Our retreats are run exclusively by and for bereaved parents and siblings. The work of grief, we have found, is all about repairing the fracture in our lives following the death of a loved one and in this special environment participants can learn new skills (primarily photography and creative writing) and engage in various physical activities that will help them reassess and sustain their ongoing love for their child.

It costs about £14,000 to hold each retreat (or £750 per person). We already offer substantial discounts but our funds are limited and we want to make places available to all, especially now that the cost of living has had such a devastating impact for those on low incomes. Please help us to support mums and dads, brothers and sisters, even grandparents as they try to rebuild their lives after such a huge tragedy.

Thank you so much.

It's such a honour to help others in their grief and we value every penny. Joshua would be proud too!!!

UPDATE 26th AUGUST (2 weeks to go)

Its official - the tags have arrived and its getting more real by the day. Had a good enough swim in the river yesterday but worried now about the state of the water given the amount of sewage is currently being pumped into our seas and rivers

UPDATE 14th August (3 weeks to go)

It's getting closer and closer. The big day. Anxious? me? A little. But todays training was special - 2.5 kms in just under an hour so not bad. But it was as much about being with Joshua as it was about getting up to speed - it's weird how my feelings for him help me push through rather than hold me back. Thanks everyone whose donated so far - its been amazing to see such generosity - it truly encourages me but more than that your money will go a long way to helping us provide discounts to those on low incomes who want to join us on our Active Grief Weekends. Thank you so much xxx

UPDATE 26th July (6 weeks to go)

So Pam and I popped into the river last week and made this wee video to show you what our challenge is all about....

UPDATE 6th July ... (8 weeks to go)

Big News ... I've been joined in my challenge by our good friend Pam Shepherd who's going to swim the Dart with me. Pam is swimming in memory of four young men who have died too soon ... George, Josh, Thomas and Simon and has also started her own Fundraising page to support this campaign and I'm so proud and thankful to her ... we are both in our seventies and this is no easy challenge but we both have a great determination to complete the course.

UPDATE 23 June ... (10 weeks to go)

My training has started ... yesterday we rose early for a 'swimrise' on our local beach - a fantastic way to start my campaign. After we'd taken in the glory of the moment I managed 4 lengths of the beach - about 1200 metres with my favorite stroke - the front crawl. Not bad for a 72 year old but we still have a long way to go before I feel OK about 10kms!!

HUGE thanks to everyone whose donated so far - you are all STARS! xxx JIMMY