Welcome to my Just Giving page.

I am taking on the huge, and scary challenge of being part of an English Channel Relay swim, to raise money for Aspire, the amazing charity that support people with spinal cord injuries.

A little background information

I have always loved being in, on or around water, and in Oct 2023 I plucked up the courage to join an open water swimming group, and have not looked back since, my only regret being that I hadn’t done it sooner. Since joining, I have swum / dipped in open water at least once a week, all year round.

My amazing and inspirational swimming friends, Sylvia, Rachel, Helen, Helen, Folly and I have signed up as a 6 person relay team with the ambition to Swim the English Channel in August 2026. We are the Aspire Pandas, AKA The Fearless Ferry Dodgers.

This is something that I have always been in awe of, but never believed that a normal person like me could take on this challenge, I always thought it was for the elite. But here we are signed up for it, and our boat “High Hopes” certainly is aptly named.

Aspire

The little known charity Aspire support people who have suffered a Spinal Cord injury, from first diagnosis, through rehab and onwards with all aspects of life after this life changing injury, helping them live the best life possible.

One of our team members, Sylvia, had a major accident at age 19, where she was run over by a drink driver in a lorry, and suffered severe leg injuries, and later in life almost lost a leg due to complications stemming from this. Due to the amazing work the charity do with the Royal National Orthopaedic hospital, she was able to have pioneering surgery to save her leg and give her a life back. Although she still struggles on a daily basis from her injuries ,she is an amazing swimmer, and I’m excited to be swimming with her on this epic challenge.

This is going to be an amazing journey for all of us, and we will really appreciate your support in any way that you can.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Jane