Cycling from London to Paris for Jaspers Journey
on 31 December 2018
on 31 December 2018
Jasper Thornton Jones · 31 December 2018 ·
Friends,family, colleagues, clients, strangers(!):
I am here to rattle the proverbial ‘collection tin’ on behalf of our son’s charity JASPER’S JOURNEY. This charity directly funds Jaspers pioneering and essential physiotherapy, which keeps him the happy healthy little sprite he is.
This therapy is not cheap – no sir! – so we look to those who follow him and know of his story to help us meet the ongoing considerable cost of therapy and equipment.
The Event
This July myself, Felix (Jasper’s dad), and my oldest friend Rhys (Jasper’s godfather) will be undertaking the challenge of riding from London to Paris over three days to raise support for Jasper’s Journey. We have been training hard and fettling our bikes ready for the 300 mile adventure.
This event is a supported ride (food, logistics, etc.) with hundreds of other cyclists riding for other causes. It is unique as it is rider-funded meaning that every penny you donate will go to Jasper’s Journey because the logistic and entry costs have already been paid by myself and Rhys.
I chose this event because cycling is a hobby I enjoy and is one of the few mobile activities Jasper also enjoys, made possible by strength gained as a direct result of this therapy, and perhaps one day he will undertake such an adventure of his own. On a more serious note the grief, pressure and responsibility of disability parenting is a tough challenge to navigate without losing ones equilibrium. I have found the escape - both physical and mental - of cycling long distances and great help to keeping myself together.
Where the Money Goes
All funds donated will go into Jasper’s personal Tree of Hope account. Tree of Hope is a registered charity that helps parents of chronically ill children raise money for out of pocket healthcare costs.
The charity holds the money and pays Jasper’s therapy and equipment
bills directly, and take a small percentage for their own administrative
costs.
We use the funds to pay for Jasper’s physiotherapy at Neurokinex Kids, where he goes four days a week, in order to maintain bone and joint health and also to strengthen paralysed muscles. We also use the funds for corrective bracing and other mobility equipment. None of
this is covered by the NHS.
https://www.facebook.com/jaspersjourneyuk/
http://neurokinex.org/neurokinex-kids/
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