Dear supporter
I wanted to share with you the background to why we are doing this, I don’t want this to be some faceless charity. By understanding our story, you’ll be able to fully embrace exactly what we are trying to do.

Background to our story.

The weekend of the 6-9th of August 2010 will be forever engrained in my memory, sadly not for the reason it ought to have been.

My wife Joanne, myself and our two daughters Mya (6) and Ava (10 weeks) were to travel up to Dundee for my younger brothers wedding.

We were all massively excited, it was our first proper outing since the birth of our 2nd daughter. Joanne was on the mend following the birth and c-section, and Mya was ecstatic to be head bridesmaid at the wedding.
The wedding went superbly, one of those few days in life, where for just a moment everything is perfect. Our family was complete, our lives on track, business was good, and we were all laughing and joking. Simply perfect.
On Sunday the 8th August we set off home, opting to call into Edinburgh, see the zoo, visit the castle and eat strawberries on the Royal Mile, the perfect day and the perfect end to the weekend we thought.
Laughing and joking all the way home, Joanne and I recounted the stories from the night before and planned where we were going to take the girls the next day. The girls both slept soundly in the back.

Just 30 miles from home, as we laughed and chatted, everything changed.

Joanne cried out her last word “ IAN.”

Heading towards us on the wrong side of the A1 was another car.

I tried to avoid it.

Sadly it hit us head on!

Without going into the details of what happened next, the outcome was that Joanne was killed instantly at the scene, Ava escaped unscathed, and Mya, sustained massive injuries. I too was all smashed up.
Mya fought on for 16 hours, I held her hand for every moment, not wanting to leave her alone. Despite the pleading of doctors to be checked out and treated, I simply I had to be with my little girl.
Sadly, Mya lost her fight.

But Mya did live on! I made a choice no parent should ever have to make, I opted to allow my little girl to breath life into 5 others, 5 other families would get the chance to spend more time together. They would get to see Christmas together.

Mya’s organs saved 5 peoples lives.

I cant begin to tell you how hard, it was, what I was feeling, nor can I begin to explain the magnitude of everything.

After a week in hospital I returned home with Ava. Still unable to walk, still on oxygen, and taking more pills then I care to recall, just to function.
Some months after the accident, as I began to look around for support, I was struck be the distinct lack of it for children.

Thankfully, and I really am, Ava was too young to know anything, I asked myself, what if? What if it had been Mya who’d survived, and not Ava.
What support was there for a young child, if they had lost their parent and sibling.

I’ll be honest, I couldn’t find any.

Maybe if their parents had cancer, or some other terminal illness, there where big charities to help them a little. But there were none, for children in this situation.
I spoke and chatted to lots of people in this time, and kept getting the same information, “supports not there.”

I started to hear the stories of how children “went off the rails” after loosing a parent or brother / sister, I heard stories of violence, alcoholism, drugs, prostitution and suicide. These children, in their formulate years had gone through so much, but they didn’t have a voice, they didn’t have somewhere to turn, they didn’t have someone to help, and so they dealt with things in the only ways they could. Often with horrific consequences.

It’s with this, I decided to set up the Jo and Mya Memorial Fund.

I simply asked myself, what if it had been Mya?

As a parent, where would you go, who would you turn to?

So, a few months later, I decided to raise funds, for the charity, having regained the ability to walk again unaided, I set off with 8 friends to scale the UK’s highest mountains.

Since then, I’ve ran the Great North Run, abseiled buildings and much more, all to raise funds for the charity and to allow Joanne & Mya to live on. And, through sharing our story, we have directly had over 1200 people sign up to the organ donation register.

The support and help from friends and other fundraisers, has been phenomenal.

Together, we hope, we can make difference, if we save one child from going through this, if we give them hope, if we teach them understanding, then, everything will be worth it. I hope its many more than just one.
I can’t change my life, but together, I hope we can change someone else’s.

I’m hoping that with your support and others like you, we can make a difference, we can keep Joanne and Mya’s legacy living, and we change lives.

Many thanks for your Support

Ian Richardson
On Behalf of the Jo and Mya Memorial Fund

The Charity:
The Charity aims to provide help, assistance, guidance and counselling to children who have either lost a parent or sibling, or, who have a parent or sibling undergoing treatment for serious / terminal illnesses.
Through access to specialist counsellors, activity weekends, financial support and more, we aim to provide an outlet through which to help children understand they are not alone, they have options, there are others they can talk to.

The objective is simple, let them know, we are here for them, when they need us.

Your support is crucial, it’s a small charity, that’s only just beginning, every penny raised, goes into the kitty to help the children. No one makes any money from this, there are no paid staff. Each penny or pound you raise or donate, goes directly to help children in their darkest hours.

- See more at: http://www.joandmya.co.uk/myownwords/index.php/our-stor/our-story/#sthash.ZHBiNEZX.dpuf