Please support these fantastic charities

Please support these fantastic charities

Friday 17 January 2014

6 weeks to go!!


I'm now beginning to wonder what I've let myself in for. 

I'm training every day and it's starting to take over my life.  How on earth am I managing to fit 3-4 hours of training a day around running a business, working away from home and spending time with my family??  I'm even managing to keep supporting Leeds United (which is a far more difficult challenge than running and cycling the length of the country). During the next few weeks I'll keep you updated as to my progress, and let you into how it feels preparing for something like this.  I'll also use this blog as an unashamed plug for sponsorship and the various other things we are doing to raise money for the three charities.  Please keep popping back to see how things are going. Why did I choose the 3 charities as beneficiaries?  I have personal reasons for each (which I'll explain below); but also, each charity has a reputation that speaks for itself in the work they do, which makes them an extremely deserving cause, worthy of your support.

 St Catherine's Hospice http://www.stcatherineshospice-nyorks.org/

 Based in Scarborough (my home town), St Catherine's is a wonderful facility providing palliative care to all members of the community; allowing them to maintain their dignity and quality of life in their final days.  They also offer valuable respite services to allow carers some time to recharge their batteries and give them some valuable quality time. St Catherine's have provided care to 2 people who are very close to me.  Firstly my Father in Law (Arthur) suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and I in need of constant care.  St Catherine's provide respite care to allow my mother in law (his carer) some freedom to maintain some semblance of a normal life.  Arthur thoroughly enjoys his time spent at the hospice, and their support has greatly enhanced his quality of life.  Secondly, a friend of mine – Mo Stevenson – sadly passed away from cancer nearly 2 years ago.  St Catherine's provided him with an outstanding level of care to make his final few days as comfortable as possible.  As an aside, we are holding a Gala Charity Dinner on Sat 15th March at the Queens Hotel in Leeds, in honour of Mo's memory. (Please email alex@wearecallidus for more details) 

 Help for Heroes http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/

 I am an ex serviceman, and I have a number of friends who have benefitted from the services provided by Help for Heroes in helping our servicemen.  The range of support provided by H4H is too wide to describe in detail here, but please visit their website to find out more.

 The Firefighters Charity http://www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/

 During my day job, I spend much of my time working with various fire services across the country.  I have always been humbled by the level of professionalism and sacrifice they demonstrate in the normal course of their job.  Everyone who visits this Blog will need the help of firefighters at some point in their life.  Arthur (my father in law) was also a career firefighter until his illness forced him to retire, so I have an even more personal reason for supporting the charity that supports injured and retired firefighters across the country.

 Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you can support the fundraising effort.
 Please keep checking back for more news and updates as to how broken my body will be!


The Charity Ball, In memory of Mo:





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