This day I love.......: fundraising

Earlier this year I applied to Meningitis Research Foundation for a London Marathon charity place. I had always said I wanted to run London marathon for them, after they provided such amazing support when I had meningitis. I was beyond thrilled when I got the email telling me I have a place, in fact I still cannot believe it and think any second now someone will tell me otherwise.

I have a target of £1,800 to raise before the London marathon and rather than look at this as one huge sum I broke it down into much smaller chunks. I set myself the goal of getting to half way by Christmas and as of today I am at 70% which is just amazing.

I had always planned at the half way point to say thank you to those that had helped me get here and I really could not have done it without the help of family and friends.

So to all those people who donated items for me to sell on various car boots thank you so much and thank you to everyone who bought something from one of the many car boot sales

For all those that donated items for the raffle, thank you and thank you to everyone who bought a raffle ticket

Big thank you to Kingstone Runners for allowing me to hold a raffle

To Pen Heaven thank you for donating a writing gift set for the raffle

Every person who has joined up to the Winter is coming challenge, you are all superstars. I have loved seeing your posts each day and hearing how it has kept you motivated through winter. Entries are still open to anyone who wants to take part.

Thank you to anyone who has bought a medal hanger, I hope you are displaying your medals with pride.

Big thank you to anyone who has donated money of any amount, it is really appreciated.

Every single friend and family member who has helped me, or listened to one of my crazy ideas. Thank you!

Finally a huge thank you has to go to Les Cadeaux who have let me bounce crazy ideas off them at random times in a morning. Hosted tea parties, kids parties and more. Balanced coins on lemons, guessed sweets in jars and had a collection tin on the desk. I could not have got this far without them. Please do give their Facebook page a like and if you are near by call in and be creative!

I have a craft fayre next week which my amazing friend [who I won't name just in case she gets embarrassed] has been helping and making loads of wonderful crafty items.

In the New Year I have a few more ideas to hopefully get me passed target!

Please feel free to donate as every amount really helps. My story is also on the link if you want to read why Meningitis Research Foundation means so much to me.

Thank you!

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We had a very special picnic party yesterday afternoon. Teaming up with local businesses to raise funds for the NSPCC. The girls were very excited they were meeting friends to play with and meeting new people too, a real community spirit to get everyone involved.

Our Picnic party was held at a local paint a pot shop, this meant whatever the weather we could have fun and also we had a great location for everyone to join in. After choosing what to paint and what colours we would need some rather amazing home made cupcakes were revealed.

Our Picnic party was in full swing with lots of children painting and enjoying themselves. Those who finished painting took part in some In the Night Garden activities, including pin the blanket on Iggle Piggle and making Pontipines. We had music and dancing and everyone had lots of fun. Hot chocolate and marshmallows were available for the kids too, a fantastic afternoon tea party.

Little Man even painted and we had children of every age painting and joining in the fun whilst raising money for the NSPCC. In the Night Garden was a huge hit with the younger children, who painted smaller items and were done quicker, whilst the older children took longer over their items.

We raised a total of £40 from our Picnic Party for the NSPCC, you can donate to our Just Giving page here if you wish. It would be fantastic to get to £60 as:

- £5 could answer a call to the NSPCC helpline from an adult who’s worried about a child.

- £60 could pay for the Speak Out. Stay Safe. programme to reach 20 primary school children.

- £200 could answer 50 calls to the Childline service from children who feel like they have nowhere else to turn.

Everyone had loads of fun and such an amazing time at our In the Night Garden Picnic Party. We raised money for the NSPCC and got to eat lots of cake! Thank you to everyone who came and to all those who donated. Also a big thank you to all the local businesses involved!

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I have huge admiration for anyone who takes on a challenge, and does so to raise money for charity. Challenges are there to push us to the extremes and require as much physical preparation as they do mental. That is the thing people tend to forget about challenges, they require as much physical preparation as they do mental.

We joined Jo Brand on Day 3 of 7, on her Hell of a walk challenge for Sports relief. Jo is attempting to walk 150 miles, coast to coast, from Hull to Liverpool in 7 days. If you break that down that is around 21 miles a day. Can you imagine someone telling you that you will be walking almost a marathon a day, every day for 7 days? Now that really is a Hell of a walk and certainly deserves support.

Myself, Penny and Jo met at Doncaster Racecourse and were excited about the day ahead. As the afternoon progressed and the arrival of Jo at the racecourse got closer, the room started to fill with more and more people. It suddenly dawned on all 3 of us how much organisation goes into a challenge like this. We were introduced to navigators, camera crew, photographers, assistants, support workers, logistics, trainers, GPs, Sport Relief staff and media co-ordinators. Not to mention the wonderful Gabby Logan who was joining Jo for the afternoon.

We were briefed that Jo was in good spirits, following a horrible wet day previously and that she was making good progress. In fact 52 miles in, or if you prefer 2 marathons back to back! I remember the pain after completing just one marathon and could only imagine how she must have been feeling. Our second briefing was outside just as we were about to set off. Stay with the navigators, pay attention to the roads and listen to instructions.

Our walk began at a comfortable pace, which my pregnant self was rather pleased with. It was clear Jo was hurting, but she didn't let the smile disappear from her face. She chatted in front of us with Gabby and even made jokes with the crew. When a member of the camera crew slipped off the pavement, they were walking backwards, Jo even made sure they were all-right before continuing.

The support bus kept driving past and stopping just ahead, the rickshaw cycled just in front with 2 camera crew inside and the team all walked around Jo and Gabby. It was clear talking to her trainer Greg just how proud he is of Jo. I took a lot of inspiration away from listening to him talk, 'break down the challenge into smaller goals and celebrate each achievement' I had a sense this was what Jo was doing.

Even when members of the public shouted abuse or started heckling, Jo took it all in her stride and took the bigger stance showing that her energy and her focus were on the challenge ahead. On route we met some lovely people who brought cake, donated money and simply gave Jo words of encouragement. We even came across a group who had set up a tea and coffee stop for Jo and the crew, what a lovely thing to do.

It was here that we had to say our goodbyes to Jo, Gabby and the rest of the crew.

I think we all left with a mixture of emotions. We all felt honoured that we had been asked to be a part of something amazing, sad that our journey could not continue and that we did not have longer to chat with Jo, Gabby and the crew and suddenly rather lonely as it was just the three of us heading back through the dark streets of Doncaster.

I feel so inspired by what Jo has achieved to date, let alone what she will have achieved at the end. It has got me thinking about what my next challenge will be, after the arrival of Thing 3 of course. If you feel inspired you can take a look at the sports relief site for further ideas. If you are a blogger make sure you keep your eyes firmly on Team Honk who will be making an announcement on February 1st about their plans.

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The final countdown has begun, in 3 days time [Sunday, in case it takes me a while to finish this post] myself and Lisa from Hollybobbs will be taking part in the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge. Lisa asked me to do this challenge with her, as part of her big 30 celebrations and I could not turn down a friend and the opportunity to raise money for such a worthy cause, Alzheimer's Society.

Training has not gone according to plan, I will be totally honest. I guess that is to be expected though with two small children and a full time job, I have suffered deep cuts on my feet, from walking and very itchy painful legs from allergies. I have spent every spare moment either walking or doing exercises to strengthen muscles. I could have done more but I have done my best. I am determined to do this.

If you don't know much about the challenge you can read here. It involves a 25 mile walk, taking 12 hours [yes the super fit can do it quicker but to the average person like me its 12 hours] and climbing three peaks in the Yorkshire Dales

Pen-y-Ghent (691 metres)

Whernside (728 metres)

Ingleborough (723 metres)

Yes that's up and down those three peaks, one after the other in one day. It is going to be tough, there will be blood loss, blisters and probably tears, but you know what, it will all be worth it at the end and we will be raising money for a great cause.

Lisa and I are hoping [signal and battery permitting] to tweet images of the walk as we go and we would love your support. We have started the #blogy3p [that's blog followed by y3p for Yorkshire 3 Peaks] and would love it if you could send us encouragement as we go.

As one final plea we are also both very close to hitting our fund raising totals. Every little really does make a huge difference you can text TDIL50 £1 to 70070 which will donate £1 or click this link and enter the amount you want.

Thank you

http://www.justgiving.com/Leyla-Brooke

http://www.justgiving.com/LisaHod

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