Hi. I am David Valentine and I will be running my first half marathon in Liverpool on March 15th to raise funds to buy a defibrillator for the charity Making Space. The defibrillator will be based at Palmyra which is a residential care home in Waterloo, Merseyside for people with mental health conditions.

A little bit about me -  I am the Activities Coordinator at Palmyra being the Activity person gives me great achievement seeing the residents with a smile on there face little things to us mean something big to them.

I also work in the Liverpool helping students achieve there goals in a specialised subject ranging from level 1 - 4. This always make me smile at the end off the year when you see students come in with no knowledge and at the end off the year they leave with the skills and a certificate and seeing them in the industry later on.

Getting a defibrillator is something personal to me. Previously I have had to use one in the past a few years ago. when a gentleman had a heart attack and luckily a defibrillator was onsite. However 3 weeks later the gentleman was back at the venue. 

At Palmyra I work with some great people by encouraging them to develop skills through a variety of different activities to support them to be as independent as possible. We value people's own choices and everything we do is done with dignity, respect and compassion. 

I want to help raise funds to buy a defibrillator as I believe this can save lives, not only of the people we are working with but also anyone in the community as there is only one other defibrillator I know of in the Waterloo area. 

This is a big challenge for me as I have never ran a half marathon before but I am training hard and have a great trainer. If I survive, I am planning on getting married in July too. I have a great team around me at Palmyra so please give what you can and if I reach my target, any money left after buying the defibrillator we will put towards a maga cushion this is a amazing equipment that helps someone who has fallen get back to a safe level without endangering yourself. so please spread the word.