My name is Lisa and I work for Scottish Ambulance Service.  My paramedic colleague Michael and his family set up a charity in memory of their daughter Aoife, to provide a sensory bus for children in Ayrshire.  To celebrate my 50^th birthday I am walking the 96-miles of the West Highland Way from 13^th-18^th October to raise as much money as I can for Aoife’s Sensory Bus with support from my colleagues Will McKnight, Jim Meredith, Craig Maughan, friends and family!

When the bus starts operating, the interactive sensory environment within it will provide a unique opportunity for children and young people with additional support needs throughout Ayrshire who need a sensory approach to improving their wellbeing and assisting their educational targets in a creative and meaningful way.  The mental health impacts and stress that have come from COVID-19 also mean that the bus will have many benefits to children who have struggled during the ongoing pandemic.  The costs of a sensory room are extensive and not all schools and communities can afford this - Aoife’s Sensory Bus is a fantastic alternative to providing this service to children in need.  Click on the link to see the wonderful transformation of the bus so far....

Sneaky snapshot 😊 (aoifessensorybus.org)

Aoife's Sensory Bus all started from the life experiences of a beautiful, feisty little girl called Aoife who sadly died in December 2019.  She is the inspiration behind the sensory bus.

Aoife was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was 16 months old and underwent several surgeries, 18 months of chemotherapy along with radiotherapy.  She was part of a clinical trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London for almost two years.  With all of these procedures and treatments Aoife’s development was affected and delayed.  When Aoife was receiving treatment her family noticed the enormous positive impact that sensory equipment and interactive spaces had on her and other children.

Aoife’s family and friends are working tirelessly to fundraise enough to get Aoife’s Sensory Bus out on the road.  The operating costs of running the bus are approximately £40,000 per year.  Please sponsor my legs through this epic 96-mile journey to raise more funds to make this sensory opportunity possible for local children and help us to have a profound impact on the lives of all those children accessing the services of the bus. 

Aoife LOVED the water as you can see from the beautiful photograph of her at the beach.  When I complete the 96 miles, I promise to jump in the chilly waters of Loch Linnhe in Fort William in her honour and share the photos with you all by way of thanks for all your kind donations!  I am training hard for this challenge, walking about 45 miles per week around my shifts as an ambulance technician and will post as many photos as I can of my training walks between now and October 13th - we are so blessed with the beauty around us guys!

Please also share the Just Giving link with as many as you can – anyone who knows me knows I am not social media savvy – but so many of you are, so please share, share share! 

You can also support by adding Aoife's Sensory Bus to your Amazon account through Amazon Smile, 0.5% of all of your purchases will then get donated directly to Aoife’s Sensory Bus. You can add us to your account by clicking the link below!

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/SC050233

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.