The Purple Parade is a 4 mile sponsored walk taking place on Sunday 23rd June 2024 here in Twickenham, starting beside the famous Twickenham Rugby Stadium to The Shot Tower in Crane Park.

The walk is in aid of The Purple Elephant Project - a local children's mental health charity which is very close to our hearts, in particular Anya and mine. Jenny, Vicki and the team were there to pick up the pieces that were left of our gorgeous Anya (quite literally!) last October after trauma following severe bullying in school due to her autism and ADHD, autistic burnout, overwhelming anxiety and a whole host of other school based traumas. She had been self-harming in school and at home and she wanted to end her life at the age 10. She was in the lowest of low places and I was at a loss as to what to do for her. CAMHS services being consistently overwhelmed, underfunded due to government cuts and a 2 year plus waiting list, I was desperate for some sort of therapy for Anya, I reached out to the very local Purple Elephant Project. Anya's play therapy started with Vicki last October until spring of this year and the transformation of our girl, who was broken, a shell of her former self, to the happy confident, social butterfly Anya that we all know and love, was incredible. Most importantly, we have our girl BACK. We can't thank Vicki, Jenny and the team enough for all they did for our family. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for caring for Anya, for taking her into your herd and using your mighty collective strength to remove the obstacles and negative forces that were holding and stamping her down.

All the sponsorship raised will go directly to their Bursary Fund, to provide free or subsidised play therapy to children who have suffered trauma of one kind and another and may otherwise be unable to access the services they need.

Thank you for your support!

Sarah & Anya xxx