My Grandfather, Maurice Segal, sadly passed away at the end of last year, just a few months before his 100th birthday. During this past year, we didn't get much option to see each other in person, but we spoke regularly on the phone. He was an extremely smart man with very strong views and he often told me of his worries. They were mainly Trump, Brexit and the plastic situation. Fortunately he lived to see Trump defeated, sadly we lost the Brexit battle and I'm not sure we are doing too great with plastic at the moment. 

Last year during lockdown he added to his list - his concern that many school-age children around the country would not have access to a computer and the internet and therefore during the Covid pandemic, would fall behind with home-schooling. Its something he felt very passionately about and so after his passing, I got in touch with School Home Support to discuss how I could help them. 

Despite the news of the government providing funds to rectify this, there are still so many families across the country who do not have a computer or internet access. With schools currently closed - who knows how long for - this is something we urgently need to rectify so that these children get the future they deserve. These young people are the future and they need to be able to have access to keep learning and developing and to stay connected to their schools. 

It costs £350 to provide all the IT equipment and 6 months of internet access for a family, so my goal is to raise enough for two families, with the hope that I can raise a great deal more! 

To start with, I'm going to cover 26km per week, for 4 weeks. I started this just over a week ago on Boxing Day and am tracking my progress on Map My Walk. I am going to be mainly hiking, but may squeeze in the odd (slow!) run or bike ride, rain or shine - sometimes with my girls. 

To read more about how School Home Support help families and where your money will be going, please visit: https://www.schoolhomesupport.org.uk/ 

I realise this is not an easy time for people financially, so please give whatever you can, if you can, every penny counts.

Thank you very much in advance for any donations you are able to give.

Cheryl Crowley, on behalf of the wonderful, late Maurice Segal.