Hello Everyone,

This year, I'm going to be raising money for the incredible charity, The Grand Appeal. To do that, I'll be taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge!

Three peaks - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon in three days: August 21st-23rd. I'm hoping the knees will hold out!

The timing feels extra meaningful to me, because on the 24th of August, our beautiful daughter Penelope would have been one year old. I am doing this for her, and for all the wonderful children and families we met during Penny's time in hospital.

The Grand Appeal is a charity that supports The Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, and without them, our time with Pen would have been far more difficult.

Penny passed away from a rare congenital heart condition called TGA in December 2024. Although those four months were incredibly difficult, The Grand Appeal made waves in helping us feel like a family. I want to help the charity continue providing for other families who might find themselves in the position we were last year.

Here are a few ways they helped us through -

- Music Therapy. The Grand Appeal helps fund music therapy for children and families throughout the hospital. Penny loved it when Claire, the music therapist, would come and play her uke and chimes and sing her songs. Claire also helped me too - she encouraged me to sing to Pen and write songs for her. Without Claire, and the funding The Grand Appeal provides for her department, I wouldn't have had the confidence to make music for Penny on the busy and sometimes noisy ward. The bond we shared through music was very special to me.

- Play Therapy - The charity also funds play therapy. During our time at the hospital, we created many hand and foot paintings and casts with Penny, all with the help of Karl and his team. Penny is no longer with us, but we will treasure these keepsakes forever, and I am so grateful for that.

- Family Accommodation and Cots for Tots - The Grand Appeal provides funding for accommodation for parents while their children are in hospital. They organised a place for us to stay so we could be close to Penny when things got difficult. That support was incredibly valuable - it allowed us to be near Pen and helped us feel more like a family.

The charity also funds medical research and equipment for sick children which is an invaluable part of what they do.

The support we received from The Grand Appeal was amazing. I want to give back in any way I can - for Penny, for the amazing NHS staff we met, and for the children and families that the hospital continues takes care of.

Thank you for donating. Pray for my knees!

Joe x