Many of you have been asking what Ferah and I would like as presents and the answer is that we really would like nothing, however we would love it if instead you could donate to a charity that we are supporting this year.

Ten years ago, with the generosity of so many of our friends and as part of my 60th birthday celebrations, Ferah and I raised over £500,000 to support the work of Hope & Homes for Children. This time, we want to help Fatima’s UK Campaign. https://www.fatimascampaign.com/

The story of Fatima Whitbread MBE is a story that captivates hearts and commands attention. It is difficult to believe that Fatima was abandoned as a baby and left to die, and that she spent the first 14 years of her life in children’s homes until she was fostered by her javelin coach and her family. Sport was truly her saviour and through sport she developed the resilience and tenacity to succeed, and went on to break the javelin world record, and to win both the World and the European Championship gold medals and become a multiple Olympian.

As a result of her own life as a child in care homes, Fatima knows how much children need support not only when they are in care but when they leave too. Through her charity, Fatima’s UK Campaign, she has now dedicated herself to improving the experiences of children in the current care system and she is committed to reshaping the system so that those in care are provided with stable loving homes, and when they leave care, that they have the real opportunities in life that we have all had and perhaps have taken for granted: secure housing, meaningful training, employment, stability, and perhaps most important of all, a sense of belonging.

The funds that we are raising will be used to improve the employment prospects of children in care through a programme of proper training and development that will give them access to meaningful employment opportunities. It will also include a full range of support services from experts in youth housing, without which the young people who leave care homes might be homeless and jobless. The cost of this programme is £650 per person. Let’s please try and help as many disadvantaged young people as possible.

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