12 for 12: Doing the Deadly Dozen for 12 Charities

I'm not sure why I've chosen the Deadly Dozen Race (https://deadlydozen.co.uk/about) as my first ever physical competition, especially given I am not athletic in any way and love food & drink! However, despite the training being gruelling and hard, I've enjoyed it and the aim on the day (22nd June 2024) isn't to win but just to finish it! I've decided to use this opportunity to try and raise money for charity and as such I'm choosing 12 charities that have meant something to me. I would love to raise £1200 so I could donate £100 to each charity but whatever is raised will simply be split and donated to the charities equally.

The charities in no particular order:

1. East Cheshire Hospice: too many of my friends have had to use these services in recent years and the hospice has brought them so much peace and support in their darkest times. https://www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/

2. Tommys: my son was premature, we didn't deal with the charity directly but we were passed a lot of their information which made the first couple of weeks of making sure he just survived a lot easier. https://www.tommys.org/

3. Smile Group: when I had PND with my daughter I felt so alienated, until I heard of Smile. I only went a couple of times but just knowing that I wasn't alone made a huge difference. https://smilegroup.org.uk/

4. Macmillian Cancer: another charity too many friends and family have had to use, including when my wonderful Aunty Mo, who taught me the importance of cake and sooooo much more, passed away 15 years ago and right through to last month when a new friend has lost her husband https://www.macmillan.org.uk/

5. Alzheimer's Society: my lovely Grandma Ena, who taught me the importance of the saying "do as I say, don't do as I do" had Alzheimer's and I know others who have been/continue to be deeply affected by this cruel disease. www.alzheimers.org.uk

6. Samaritans: Sometimes, we don't recognise how much someone is struggling until it is too late and they are gone. We miss those people desperately. https://www.samaritans.org

7. Mentell: we need to get men talking. They may look like they can carry the weight on their shoulders but sometimes the weight just gets too heavy. https://www.mentell.org.uk/

8. Space4Autism: I have not had to use this charity myself but it is another one that a few friends use and the support they have received is precious. https://space4autism.com/

9. Just Drop In: A local charity providing support for our young people, not just for the immediate but providing the skill set for life. https://www.justdropin.co.uk/

10. Youthfed: I have started working on a project with this charity called Our Space to create a youth centre for youngsters in Macclesfield which I believe could help the community on various levels. The kids are our future, we need them to thrive mentally and physically, at their own pace, on their own terms with their own confidence https://youthfed.org.uk/programmes/ourspace/

11. Mencap: two of the most important people in my life have learning disabilities, they are also two of the most inspirational people, as are their families, because no matter what barrier is put in their way they find ways to work around it or sometimes, the hardest option, learn to accept it and move on. https://www.mencap.org.uk/

12. Stop it Now: I'm not comfortable with making this my last charity and debated over it as to simply know this charity exists says a lot but many of you will know that in 2020 we found out that someone we thought to be a friend was very much a fiend. He was immediately cut out of lives (please note our children were not affected) but I turned to this charity to try and understand what could even drive someone to child pornography. I still don't understand it, the more you understand the mindset the darker it becomes, but this charity is so important in taking a proactive approach to stop others and to support not only the children but the offenders families, friends and those of the victims too: www.stopitnow.org.uk