Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Below in Dan Galleni's own words, he tells his story of when little Max Galleni was born last year and the incredible role that Shooting Star Chase has played for their family during such a difficult time.

"During the summer of 2015 our amazing boy Max was born. During the first few weeks it became apparent he was unwell, and after many frantic visits to various specialists, Max was diagnosed with a rare form of brain tumour at only three weeks old. Those few weeks are a blur, with Max fighting through two craniotomy surgeries at Great Ormand Street Hospital. After his second operation, we were told the tumour was highly aggressive and parts of it were inoperable. The Neuro-Surgeons confirmed our fears and that there was nothing more they could do for Max other than he be kept comfortable, and he was given 3 weeks to live. He was 9 weeks old.

The shock of this news is indescribable, and as we were transferred to Shooting Star Chase, although we had real doubts that a hospice was the right place for Max.

Between myself, Jane and Grandparents we have lived permanently at Shooting Stars since 28th September so have first hand experience of the support Shooting Star Chase provides. We can honestly say that without their care, love and support provided for the whole family, life would have been unmanageable. Max's life expectancy has changed three times throughout our stay here, and living with so much uncertainty is incredibly difficult, particularly for Max's four year old Sister Chloe. The unwavering care has helped us through two surgeries to deal with secondary effects of the tumour, and a very difficult Christmas.

SSC are an amazing charity, not only for how they care for my courageous little boy, but the other very poorly children who we get to see every day.

Their approach is to help the whole family through one of the most unthinkably difficult times any parent could face, providing support to parents, siblings, grandparents and the wider family through residential or care at home, counselling, bereavement care and a wide range of children's therapies and much more. As well as end of life care they provide respite care for hundreds of children's therapies with complex needs, giving their families a much needed break.

Amazingly this support is free of charge to families 365 days a year. It costs £10 million a year just to maintain the current level of care. Surprisingly only around 10% of that income comes from Government funding, so they rely on our supporters generosity to keep the service running. What's more, there are many more families desperate for this type of vital support, so it's crucial they raise more funds to provide more care for other families similar to us".

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.