My name is Jordan Bray, I am currently a serving soldier in The Royal Engineers in the British Army. Sadly, on December 13th, 2020, I suddenly lost my mum and best friend Nicola Bourne aged just 45 years old. Unfortunately, we are still unaware of how she passed. In memory of her I have decided that I am going to Run/Loaded walk 46 Miles, Carrying 46Lbs (21kg) on my Mums 46th birthday (30th June 2021) as fast as possible. Raising money for a friend of mine Tony Wilsher’s Campaign ‘IOKN2BOK’ or the full name of ‘ITS OKAY NOT 2 BE OKAY’ (more on the campaign below).

WHY A CHARITY EVENT?

There are 2 reasons I want to conduct a charity event, the first being my mum was the first person who inspired me to raise money for charity. Last year I was challenged by a friend to conduct 50 miles in 5 days. To which I replied I would do it in 2 days. I then told my mum about this and she replied “You’re absolutely crazy”, however after talking about it for a few minutes, my mum accepted the fact I was doing it but then suggested that I do 2 marathons in 2 days for charity. So that’s what I did and managed to raise £1500 for the Charity ‘MIND’. From that day I always promised myself to do more to help different campaigns and charities, and what better way to do my next fundraiser, than in memory of my beautiful mum.

Secondly, I want to raise money because of the incredible work that Tony and his team do to help support and raise awareness for people who are struggling with their mental health. Tony went from struggling himself with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and poor mental health, to finding God and changing his life to be the best person he can be, with the aim of helping others find the same path he did.

The reason I have chosen another mental health campaign this year is because my mum herself struggled with her mental health for many years, and was a big supporter of improving mental health, whether that be her own or someone else’s. She would be over the moon that I am trying to help other people suffering with a problem she struggled in silence with for many years.

ABOUT IOKN2BOK

To find out more about Tony, his background and his vision for the ITS OK NOT 2 BE OKAY campaign, and the incredible work he does, please see the link below:

https://shoutout.wix.com/so/c6NYDu-8k?languageTag=en&cid=c90b9063-eadb-47b2-9074-ba4d178a7d47&fbclid=IwAR13SLYWGFllhH8ZH7IfxDL8h18jMDaOa6FNvtwIF4RD278oFm9HSQjBrLs%20-%20/main

Finally, if you are able to donate anything you can, it will be very much appreciated, by myself and more so by the IOKN2BOK Campaign. Thank you for reading this, wish me luck and most importantly remember…..ITS OKAY NOT 2 BE OK!!!