My name is Charlotte Meneely, I am 16 years old and on October 8th 2017 I will be jumping 15,000ft out of a plane (giving 60 seconds of pure free fall), along with family members, in order to try to raise both funds and awareness for The Shaun Lee Johnstone Fund, as part of The Brain Tumour Charity.

I am very passionate about the charity. Shaun's father, Ray, and his wife Paula are both incredible people who have devoted their lives to raising funds in Shaun's memory, so I would love to be able to help.

Shaun passed away at age 16, the age which I am now, from a brain tumour. Tragically, this was not diagnosed, despite his complaints to his GP about headaches and shaking in his left hand, and he sadly died just a few months later. 

I recently had the privilege of engaging in a week of work experience under a fantastic neurosurgeon at the LGI, which both broadened my knowledge surrounding neurological disorders, but also fuelled my ambition to pursue a career within this field further. 

As well as learning about the diseases themselves (such as brain tumours), I also got to meet those living with neurological conditions, some of which were terminal - this really opened my eyes and truly caused me to acknowledge the importance of finding a cure - which is what your kind donations will help to do.

Brain tumours are the biggest killer out of the cancers in people under 40, yet they receive just 2% of funds - I strongly believe that this must be changed. 

1 in 74 people will be diagnosed with a brain, other CNS or intracranial tumour during their lifetime.

Just 14% of people with brain tumours will survive for longer than 10 years. 

In the last 10 years, brain, other CNS or intracranial tumour incidence rates have increased by 12%, and have increased 30% from the 1990s. 

Finding a cure is imperative.

(http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/brain-other-cns-and-intracranial-tumours#heading-Zero)

The skydive is pre-paid, so all donations will go directly to the charity, to improve and save lives through pioneering research (the "HeadSmart" campaign is brilliant: https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/get-involved/help-make-this-change/headsmart/)

On behalf of myself, Shaun's family and those who your money will support, I would like to thank you in advance for your generosity.