This summer I will be joining 40 others in a cycle ride from London to Land's End in support of The Quintessentially Foundation, which supports charitable activity worldwide that improves the health, education and welfare of disadvantaged communities. The London 2 Land's End cycle will be supporting four charities; The House of St Barnabas, The Place2Be, Room to Read and SOS Children's Villages. 

We will be leaving on 8th July and arriving on 11th, hopefully in time to get on a coach back to London and catch England lifting the World Cup somewhere on route back from the end of England. 

It would make me immeasurably happy if you were able to help support these terrific charities. This is the first long-distance anything I have ever done that hasn't involved hot meals at 30,000 feet and should I make it back in one piece and not under a truck, I will be really chuffed to have completed it and with your help, raise lots of cash for not one but four very worthy causes. 

For those of you who weren't at the House of St Barnabas for a talk a few weeks ago on the charities we are supporting and the amazing work they do, here is some information. The Foundation supports incredible causes all around the world and these four are no exception. 

The House of St Barnabas

The House of St Barnabas was established in 1846, dedicated to helping the disadvantaged of and neighbouring areas of . Until three years ago, The House was a hostel, but now finds itself as a social enterprise with the aim of providing personal support to people who have experienced homelessness. This includes life skills and vocational training, work placements and support in accessing jobs. The charity’s vision is to help people change their lives and regain and sustain independence by de-stigmatising homeless people by providing opportunities that would not normally be available to them, providing a haven and a community within the House of St. Barnabas that they can belong to, enabling people to gain qualifications and practical work experience and to find employment, a new career path and life changing experiences and integrating them within the wider community. www.hosb.org.uk

The Place2Be

90% of young offenders had a mental health illness as a child and there are over one million children in the under the age of sixteen who have a diagnosable mental health problem. The Place2Be is a charity working inside schools to improve the emotional well-being of children, their families and the whole school community. By giving children the chance to explore their problems through talking, creative work and play, we enable them to cope now and make better-informed decisions about their lives and help prevent more serious mental health and behavioural problems in later life. When children are happier and less preoccupied with problems, they find it easier to learn and so their educational chances are much enhanced. www.theplace2be.org.uk

Room to Read

Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, providing education to girls and establishing computer labs. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.

www.roomtoread.org

Children’s Villages

’ vision is that every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect and security. The charity helps children whose parents are not there for them: Aids orphans, street children, child soldiers and children orphaned by conflict, poverty, illness or natural disasters. Traditionally, provide children with a home, a family and a new mother in a purpose-built local village, where they can stay until they are ready for independent life, or move to one of our Youth Homes as an intermediate step. www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk

I look forward to regaling you all with stories of near misses and world cup glories and will keep everyone up to date with progress via this site (as well as others). Please dig deep. 

Thank you 

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