My brother and I are congenitally deaf, and we received cochlear implants which are surgically placed neural prostheses that provide sound perception. We attended years of speech therapy through our speech pathologist, Lynn Wood (https://www.hearsaylw.com/). These devices and speech therapy have transformed our lives by enabling us to hear, speak, and attend mainstream schooling alongside peers without hearing loss. 

However, speech therapy in the UK is extremely expensive. Auditory Verbal UK (avuk.org) is a charity that delivers subsided auditory-verbal therapy for deaf babies and children aged 0 – 5 years old. This enables deaf children from low-income families the opportunity to learn how to listen and talk. 

To raise money to support this charity, I am running a half-marathon. I have never run a half-marathon before, but through the support of family, friends, speech language pathologists, audiologists, physicians, and educators who believed in our success, I know any obstacle can be overcome. Please consider donating if you wish to change the life of a deaf child who is just like me and my brother. Please also consider donating for the sake of my health because I cannot stop lying in my bed and eating McDonald's and hopefully this will motivate me to change that. 

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.