Posted by Sean Connelly on September 2, 2014, 1:46 pm
Dear All
As you all probably know by now it's that time of year where I hijack this forum briefly to ask once again for your support for a good cause.
On Sunday 7th September, Louise & I will be running the Great North Run for the 14th time. Each year we raise money for a charity and this year it is for the "Fight For Sight" charity.
It has an extra special meaning for us this year as we're raising money on behalf of Louise’s friend’s son, Ben.
Ben was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease last year at the age of 8. Stargardt’s is a genetically inherited eye disease which affects the macula, a part of the retina at the back of the eye which gives us central vision and the ability to see detail. It shows up in childhood or early adult life and is a form of macular degeneration. At present there is no treatment and no cure.
The condition means that Ben is losing his central vision and so the lack of treatments means finding one is vital. However Fight for Sight has funded two projects at the University of Oxford investigating gene therapy. Researchers have identified the faulty gene and Professor Robert MacLaren has developed a gene replacement therapy for patients with Stargardt’s Disease for which he has received an award from the Medical Research Council to take through to clinical trials. Treatment may only be years away rather than decades, but there’s so much more to be done.
Ben is a lovely bright 9 year old and a budding scientist himself. By raising money to fund this type of research, we hope that Ben and other sufferers of eye diseases will one day get the treatment they need to see clearer, and be better equipped to reach their full potential.
Fight for Sight have been funding research into blindness and eye disease for more than 40 years. Please give them and us your support. We say this every year, but you’ve helped us raise thousands of pounds for charity. Together we do make a difference.
Virgin Money Giving is 100% not for profit. Your donations will be quickly processed and passed to Fight for Sight and any gift aid will be claimed on the charity's behalf where eligible (if you’re a tax payer that means another 25% goes to the Charity).
Therefore, we welcome all sponsorship no matter how big or small so please help us help them!
Thank you for your continued support, it really is appreciated!
Regards
Sean & Louise
P.S. I can't say this will be the last time because while we can still get ourselves round the 13.1 miles and generous people are happy to support us, we'll keep doing it
All done....another fantastic weekend up in the friendly North East with thousands and thousands of people raising a staggering amount for so many worthy causes.
We weren't quite expecting the heat and of course forgot to put any sun block on.....so we now have the burnt shoulders and necks to show for it!
I'm blaming the heat and injuries for not beating our previous personal bests from last year....we were 2-3 minutes off the pace. However we made up for it by the fantastic amount of money we have so far raised for Fight For Sight. From all our generous supporters including Ben's extended family and friends we have raised over £1600 and really believe that we can probably get that to £2000 which would be amazing.
We can't thank you enough for supporting us year after year regardless of the charity we run for.
Thank you
Sean & Louise.
P.S. The web page will carry on accepting donations for plenty of time yet so if you haven't already and would like to please donate whatever you can and see if we can't get to £2000.
