On May 30th, against my better judgement, I will be risking life and limb by taking part in an abseil at Devil's Gorge, near Mold. I will be part of a team of 37 people, all of whom will be raising money for the North Staffs Special Adventure Playground. We will be doing two abseils, the first down a 75° slope, the second from a 120ft overhang, a free hang (no body contact with the rock!!) abseil.

My involvement with the Playground started when I was still at school and I was recruited as a summer playscheme volunteer to support the children and young people who attended. I loved it...and nearly 20 years later I am still here, now managing the organisation. I know I may be biased, but the Playground really is a fantastic place. Each year we see hundreds of disabled children and young people come through our doors to attend our hugely popular club sessions, holiday playschemes and family sessions, and we are used on a daily basis by local special schools and support groups. You can read more about the Playground on our website, www.specialadventureplayground.co.uk.

The cost of keeping the Playground open currently runs at over £200 000 a year and, with less than a quarter of this coming from the local authorities, the majority of this money has to be raised through applying for time-limited grants and through our own and others' fundraising efforts.

Last year some of the staff did sponsored 'zorbing' (rolling down a hill in a big ball!), so this year's event has to be bigger and better, hence the abseil. I am absolutely terrified of heights so this is a huge challenge for me personally, but I am hoping that with a large team of us taking part we will be able to raise a significant amount of money for the Playground. Please sponsor me for this event and support a fantastic cause (and reward me for facing my fear!).

Thank you.

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