Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

This year I'll be tackling a few challenges to try and push myself further than ever before with the aim of raising some much needed money for the Maple Tree in Wheatley, Oxon. I start with the Oxford Town and Gown 10k on 8th May, followed by the Blenheim Triathlon on 28th, Thame 10k on June 26th, a 2.5k open water night swim on 10th Sept, and finally the Oxford Half Marathon on 16th October. Needless to say, these aren't normal weekend activities for me so any encouragement you can offer will be most welcome. 

Why?

The Maple Tree offers all kinds of sessions and advice to people going through the early years of parenting; a bit of morale support, a listening ear, the opportunity to meet other parents in similar situations, and a comfortable place to just be open and honest about how you're feeling and how difficult it can be. Whilst at the same time offering the children a fun and interesting place to explore and grow and make friends of their own. 

On those days after no sleep, having somewhere round the corner where the girls could get involved in all sorts of play and learning, offered us that much needed respite. Giving us a much needed 5 minutes to have a coffee and to get our heads back in order.  

After the withdrawal of central/government funding, the centre now wholly funds itself through donations, grants and a busy fundraising programme. After the amount of support me and my family have received from the centre I thought it probably about time I tried to repay some.  

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