Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

We have signed up to climb 24 Lake District Peaks in 24 hours in aid of Caring Matters Now. We have never done anything like this before but want to push ourselves because of the work of this life changing little charity which needs to raise c. £40,000 per year.

Our daughter Elspeth was born with Congenital Melanocytic Naevus (CMN's). They are birthmarks and regarded as a type of benign tumour. They cover 25% of Elspeth's body and of other children sometimes as much as 80%.

Only 1 in 20,000 babies each year are born with this condition. In addition to the cosmetic impact of having CMN, children born with the condition can also have a raised risk of skin cancer and often suffer developmental delays. Elspeth was 4 weeks old when we were advised thankfully her CMN's were benign. We continue to have 6 monthly check ups at GOSH and have first hand experience of the support the charity provides through Family Days, PGL activity holidays and newsletters.

Elspeth  is now 7 and is a determined and confident child who takes great delight in life! She is rather proud of her CMN's and calls them her "special Elspie marks".

Hopefully one day there will be treatment available as a result of research into CMN carried out at GOSH. It is however paid for entirely by the money raised by Caring Matters Now. They need to raise over £40,000 p.a to continue with this vital research. So every penny raised through this website will count.

Please consider donating through JustGiving. It is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.