My first half marathon for sunshine and smiles!

There are many obvious reasons why we need to raise money for this charity some detailed below but on a more personal note there's 2 main reasons; 1). to help provide more opportunities for my gorgeous nephew Luke and other children with Down syndrome so they can meet their maximum potential in life. 2). To enable the charity to continue providing the much needed peer support and advice to Cherie and Rich ( Luke's parents) as we've seen how important it is to them and other parents out there. To explain a little more about sunshine and smiles; their aims are to improve the lives and opportunities of children and young people with Down Syndrome in Leeds by offering regular groups and activities, individual support and advocacy for families, raising awareness and challenging preconceptions in the wider community. They currently run 11 sessions per month offering a variety of support to members of the groups; they have a fortnightly 0-3 year old group offering activities for the children, advice & support for families, a chance to share experiences & make friends. They have a 3–5 year old group which runs fortnightly offering creative movement for the children and social opportunities. They run a monthly speech and language groups for 25 children. They have also just started a monthly group for young people aged 9 and over doing a variety of activities such as bowling, music workshops, eating out and art workshops. Speech and Language therapy – it costs £2500 for 12 months of sessions at the level they are providing now – there is a real demand and they are likely to need to increase that to at least £3000 for the next twelve months of sessions... So helping me raise £500 could really change lives... Please help and sponsor me, every little helps xx