Please support this year's Valentine's Ball held at Aylsham High School to raise awareness and fundraise in memory of my two brothers Ryan and Joe, who we sadly lost to Meningitis.  Joe was only 7 weeks old in 1991 when he contracted Pneumococcal Meningitis and Ryan was aged only 19 when he contracted Meningococcal Septicaemia in 2012 whilst studying Sport at Sheffield Hallam University.

As you can imagine, our family are devastated at our loss and are putting all our strength and efforts into fundraising for The Meningitis Research Foundation who fund research to prevent meningitis and septicaemia and improve survival rates and outcomes.  They also promote education and awareness to reduce death and disability, and give support to people affected.

March 2015 sees the first anniversary of the JCVI’s recommendation to government that a meningococcal b vaccine, which will save lives and avert disabilities from meningitis and septicaemia, is introduced into the UK’s childhood immunisation schedule. 

 Despite a year having passed implementation seems no nearer. This is the first time ever a vaccine recommended by JCVI has not been introduced and a failure to introduce MenB vaccine and may violate the NHS constitution.

 As such The Meningitis Research Foundation has planned a campaign - #WheresOurVaccine around this anniversary to bring pressure on the powers that be to introduce the vaccine asap and this year’s Valentines Ball will certainly support this.

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.