Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am delighted to support Whizz Kidz, which is an amazing charity supplying customised equipment to disabled children. This can literally transform their lives - meaning the ability to attend a mainstream school for the first time, or take up a sport, or start a career, or just be able to get about under their own steam, giving them much more independence. They also provide training in wheelchair skills and life skills. The young people themselves are engaged and involved in the running and promotion of the charity.

Recently disabled myself, I can appreciate the difference this equipment can make for someone. A spinal injury, followed by experimental and unsuccessful spinal surgery has left me barely able to sit, bend or lift, and unable to stand or walk for very long. Equipment has helped enormously- a back brace and a special cushion enable me to sit for 3 minutes (long enough to get to my office, the local pub and a pool where I do hydrotherapy), a platform to lie on at the office with a wall-mounted laptop stand has allowed me to continue working. Crutches enable me to stand for a few more minutes and walk a few more yards. This increased independence means the world to me, so I can only imagine what the right equipment means for a disabled young person.

I may not be able to cut my own toe nails or sit at a table to eat a meal or travel further than a mile or so without being transported lying flat, but recently I abseiled down the side of the Fort Dunlop building in Birmingham. As I'm not keen on heights (and this was a 10 story building) I made a bit of a botch of it by falling off the ledge at the top (in my defence it was a very wet and windy day). But once I'd recovered my breath, and my dignity, I managed the rest of it with little more drama. I am looking for new challenges to enable me to continue raising money for this worthy cause, so watch this space!

It costs an average of £5,000 to provide a customised piece of equipment for a young person (sometimes much more), and additional funds to train them in its use. Every penny well spent, in terms of transforming a child's life and helping them gain the things most disabled people crave - independence, choice, respect, opportunities to do some of the things most people take for granted.

I'd like to raise as much as possible towards helping another young person transform their life, and hope you will support this remarkable charity.

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.