On 24 June I walked a marathon (26+ miles) along the Water of Leith from Leith Docks to Harmeny School in Balerno and then back again, in aid of Harmeny Education Trust. I did the walk with my dog Orla, 20 wonderful colleagues and friends and 3 more dogs!

It was tough - I have the blisters to prove it - but was nothing compared to the adversity the remarkable children placed at Harmeny have had to face in their young lives.

Thank you so much to those who have already donated - your generosity means so much. We still need more funds to close the gap in the funds in order to build a brand new Learning Hub in the grounds of the school and turn lives around - and any further contribution, no matter how small, is hugely appreciated.

Harmeny provides care and education to children from all over Scotland who have experienced early years trauma through abuse, neglect and family disruption. The impact of these early years experiences is profound and the children struggle to manage their emotions and build positive relationships.

I'm helping to raise £100k during the month of June to enable Harmeny to reach their £3.1m Learning for Life Appeal target and build a new Learning Hub to deliver specialist secondary vocational and skills-based learning programmes, which will enable young people to remain until the age of 18 (until recently Harmeny could only support children aged 5-14).

By doing this, a traumatic transition at 14 can be avoided and Harmeny will be able to provide the spaces and opportunities young people impacted by trauma and adversity need to progress towards positive destinations and develop key skills for independent living after leaving care.

Thanks so much for your support - it means the world!