Thanks heaps for visiting my JustGiving page.

On the 30th September I will be running my first marathon to raise money for the Cleft Lip and Palate team at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Cleft lip and/or palate affects around 1 in 700 children in the UK. Being born with a cleft not only affects appearance but can also impact on feeding in early life followed by later speech, dental and hearing problems. It can also be psychologically and emotionally challenging for children and their families.

The team at Birmingham Children's Hospital is one of only 12 regional cleft centres in the UK. The  team consists of  a number of professionals including Clinical Nurse Specialists, Plastic Surgeons, Speech and Language Therapists, Orthodontists, Dentists, Maxillofacial Surgeons, Ear Nose and Throat Specialists and Clinical Psychologists. The team work closely with families from the first point of diagnosis right up until children reach adulthood to help them grow up as healthy and happy as all children deserve to be.

So please dig deep and give what you can to support the vital work of the Birmingham cleft team and make all of the miles of pain and the endless training hours worthwhile.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.