Why did I decide to fundraise?

In May this year, my brother committed suicide at the age of 28. I know that’s a horribly blunt opening, but I’ve rewritten so many vague, ‘I lost my brother suddenly and unexpectedly’ renditions that it was beginning to sound like I’d just misplaced him. I didn’t.

The past three months have been the toughest of my life, my big brother who annoyed me and made me laugh in equal quantities isn’t here anymore and you know what? It sucks and it hurts like hell and the worst part of it all is that I can’t even talk to people about the reason he’s gone, because the way he died is generally frowned upon and any mention of mental health in society is met with a stony glare. Which is ridiculous! It’s 2013 and we still shy away from these things, yet more people die by suicide each year than by murder and war combined.

My sister and I decided it was high time we started talking about it and want to begin by raising money and awareness of an incredible charity that helps to support children whose parents have died by suicide and families coping with bereavement.

Mental health and suicide are never things that anyone wants to think or talk about, which is perfectly understandable because they’re both pretty scary subjects, but by avoiding the discussion of them, it can leave the people experiencing them feeling isolated, alone and as if they're the only people in the world to be going through, or to have gone through it, which is certainly not the case!

 

What am I doing to raise money?

On 8 September 2013, my sister and I will be taking part in Run the Rainbow, a 5K run organized by The Laura Centre, which sees all of its runners covered in paint of all colours of the rainbow, thrown by volunteers, as they run the course. A bit like the Colour Run and a bit like Holi, but with all the proceeds going towards a well deserving charity.

I know that a lot of you run marathons and do tough mudders and all sorts of highly intimidating and impressive things for charity, but despite my insistence otherwise, I’ve come to realize I’m less gazelle, more baby giraffe. So ignoring my sister’s suggestions of half marathons, I managed to find a nice 5K for the two of us that also happens to involve us being covered in rainbow coloured powder paint, just the thing to hold my attention and keep me smiling whilst completing a potentially awful run (the most I usually run is the distance between my house and the car when it’s raining!)

It means a lot to me that I can raise money and awareness for an amazing charity, whilst remembering my big brother and doing something that I know he’d find utterly hilarious and weird.

 

Why I picked my chosen charity…

The fact that all proceeds and funds raised from Run the Rainbow go towards The Laura Centre couldn’t be more perfect. We’d considered running the Colour Run in Brighton this September and raising money for the centre indirectly, but the discovery that The Laura Centre were running their very own similar event also in September, seemed like wonderful timing.

The Laura Centre provide support and counseling to families who have suffered sudden bereavement, in particular parents who have lost a child and children who have lost a parent. They do fantastic work offering families a space to go to, somebody to talk to and advice on coping with loss, as well as educating members of the family on how to approach the subject of death and a lost loved one with a young child.

Alongside being a brother, a son and an uncle, Lee was a wonderful father to two beautiful little girls and would have been the proud and loving dad of a son, due in September this year. The Laura Centre has been there for them at this difficult time and will continue to support them for as long as they need it. The best way I can think of to thank them for everything they’ve done for my family is to offer up my awkward limbs to Run the Rainbow and any donations I receive to help them to continue their work well into the future.

 

 How will the money raised help?

It takes £1,000 to provide 5 months of one to one counselling for a young person whose dad has committed suicide and whilst I couldn’t even hope to raise that amount in my wildest dreams, every penny towards that figure would go towards helping children like my nieces and nephew.

The Laura Centre is a not-for-profit organisation and so all donations and funds raised through Run the Rainbow will go towards supporting the centre and its users. Here’s what your money could go towards:

 

£35,000Funds a highly professional TLC counsellor for a year
£25,000Pays for a year’s rent of a very special place, The Laura Centre
£10,000Provides 200 counselling sessions a year for parents and siblings experiencing sudden, complex, traumatic and untimely death of a child
£5,000 Funds 100 counselling sessions a year for when a child is bereaved
£1,000Provides 5 months one to one counselling for a young person whose dad hascommitted suicide
£750 Funds a TLC therapeutic relaxation and mindfulness group for bereaved parents (CDincluded)
£500 Helps TLC to provide a TLC teddy bear for every bereaved child in our children’sgroup
£250 Provides arts and craft materials for a TLC Children’s Group
£150 Funds therapeutic storybooks for bereaved children
£50 Pays for a month’s worth of tea, coffee and biscuits offered to every bereaved adultand child coming through the doors of TLC

 

Whilst the last one might seem insignificant, in the past three months, I’ve consumed more tea than I have over my 24 year life span. It’s a cliché, but in true British style, sometimes you just need a cup of tea to help you to keep it together. Even if this run only manages to fund a cup of tea for the people who are going through what I am right now, it’ll be worthwhile.

 

What your support means to me…

Every penny donated will mean the world to me! In today’s financial climate, I know that the last thing on your mind when you get your pay slip through is how much of it you’re going to donate to charity. I also realize that every day you’re inundated with ‘donate to my cause!’ pleas and it can be a bit overwhelming, particularly when everyone you know is suddenly fundraising for The Race for Life.

If you could spare just a pound or two, you could be helping a family like mine at the hardest time in their life. And if you can’t? That’s okay too. Just share this page, remember the charity and if you or anyone you know ever experience something similar, know that they are there to help.

Thank you in advance for your donations, support and for just clicking on this link in the first place! If you want to see the spectacle that is me running, you can head down to Victoria Park, Leicester on September 8 from 9.45am- expect a paint covered (and sweaty) hug at the finish line!

 

More information…

For more information about The Laura Centre, the Rainbow Run and mental health please visit the following links:

Run the Rainbow - http://www.runtherainbow.org/
The Laura Centre - http://www.thelauracentre.org.uk/
Mind (a great place for advice and information on mental health) - http://www.mind.org.uk/