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Regular readers of the blog will be used to me getting on my bike for charity. Up until now, most of my epic rides have been in aid of the Hope House Children’s Hospices which are supported by the industry’s GM Fundraising charity.
Over the years I’ve probably helped to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for them, thanks entirely to the generous support of customers, colleagues and suppliers.
This time around though, I’m cycling to raise money for a charity which is sadly even closer to home. In March this year my mother in law was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), so my wife Sarah and I have decided to put all our fundraising efforts this year into supporting the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) – in return for the incredible support they are already giving to her and to the rest of the family.
MND is the condition which affected Stephen Hawking but, unlike him, more than half of sufferers die within two years of diagnosis and there is currently no cure. Devastatingly it affects the brain and spinal cord and leaves sufferers unable to move, talk, swallow and eventually breath. In the UK at any one time, there are as many as 5,000 adults fighting MND, and six of them will die every day from what is a truly devastating disease.
The MNDA funds support for sufferers as well as research and clinical trials in the ongoing effort to find a cure. Sarah and I are determined to do what we can to raise money for them, and we’re kicking things off by taking part in two of the charity’s biggest and most high profile events.
I will be riding for the MNDA in the London to Brighton bike ride on September 16 and Sarah will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon on October 14. We’re both fairly fit so the challenge for us is not to make it to the finish line but to raise as much money as possible along the way.
We’d be immensely grateful for any support you can give us. We’ve created two separate JustGiving pages to make it easy to donate to either (or ideally both!) of us. The links are below:
Thank you in advance.
Richard
