This November, me and a couple friends will be attempting to summit the highest freestanding mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro, to raise funds in support of Jersey Hospice Care. The Lemosho Route will take ~7 days of hiking to reach the Uhuru Peak at 5,895m before the descent back to Mweka Camp.

My Dad, Robert Harrison, was born in Burnley on the 30th of March 1967 as the 3rd of 4 children. He worked behind bars for his 20s where he met my Mum in 1990. They moved to Essex where he did painting and decorating, and lovingly took charge of a new Labrador, Tessa. In 1995 the family moved to Jersey as my mum got a teaching job and he trained as an IT assistant, which he did for ~20 years across a school, post office and bank all while raising me as the most loving and supportive Dad.

In December 2024 he was diagnosed with cancer and in March 2025 he was admitted to Jersey Hospice Care. The hospice holds a special place in my heart for the amazing work in looking after my Dad towards the end of his life on April 15th 2025, when he sadly passed away, aged 58. Jersey Hospice Care provided exceptional medical care and support to my Dad, ensuring his final weeks were as comfortable and dignified as possible and enabled me to spend a countless amount of precious moments with my Dad. The staff went above and beyond every single day, offering unwavering emotional support to both me and my mum during what was an indescribably difficult time.

Jersey Hospice Care was founded by the community, for the community. They are there for anyone with a life-limiting condition – and those close to them – to ensure all Islanders have equal access to the best palliative care and support, where and when they need it. As the Island’s only hospice, they deliver this care through the In Patient Unit, Specialist Palliative Care Team, Therapies, and Bereavement and Emotional Support services. All of Hospice’s services are available free of charge to Islanders and their loved ones. 57% of the costs needed to run Hospice comes from the generosity of the community through fundraising by individuals, local businesses, trusts, gifts in wills and income from their three shops. It costs £18,000 per day, and more than £6.5 million per year to deliver their services.

Its been the hardest year of my life with the sudden loss of Bob and much won’t ever be the same without him, but I know this would make him proud. He loved all hospice staff that treated and cared for him and it provided a real calm in the months before he left us. I hope this fundraiser serves as a thank you to the compassion, care, and humanity of everyone at JHC. Special love and thanks to Jocelyn, Kate, Emily, Artur & Derek.

Thank you in advance to all those who kindly make donations towards this excellent cause; without continued support and generous donations like these it wouldn’t be possible to provide all that they do.