Robyn and I will be taking on the mammoth challenge of running the London landmarks half marathon to raise money for Footprints conductive education centre. Robyn had never run in her life before starting training for this race and I have never run more than 10km, yet we will both be running 21km for a cause that is very close to our hearts. Footprints is a small Nottingham based charity that provides invaluable support for children with disabilities like my lovely little Eve. 

Eve has Down syndrome and her low muscle tone makes it much harder to reach key physical developmental milestones such as sitting, crawling, standing and walking. Her problems with hearing and cognitive delay will make learning how to talk more of a challenge than it is for her typically developing peers. 

The support from Footprints provides a combination of physiotherapy and speech and language therapy that will help Eve learn to walk and talk. They provide group therapy for children with Down syndrome that not only gives her friends to learn alongside, but also develops a fantastic support network for parents.

Footprints doesn’t just support children with Down syndrome. They help families whose children are multiple and profound, some with needs that are so complex their child may not have a diagnosis. There are children attending Footprints whose parents don’t know if they will survive to see their first or second birthday. 

The staff work tirelessly to aid in children’s development and support families. They give what a stretched NHS does not have the resources to provide. Eve receives physiotherapy just once every 8 weeks and speech and language therapy only 6 times a year through the NHS. Private access to these services would cost up to £100 an hour and yet Footprints charge families just £30 a month for a 2 hour session every week. 

As a charity they need to raise £200,000 a year so please give what you can to help support this fantastic service.

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