Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Any amount given is greatly received. Thankyou !!

The challenge

A gruelling 350 mile ride in the saddle from Geneva to Nice over 4 days across some of the most beautiful Alps scenery in the world and those ridden by the Tour De France. Taking in such places as Lake Annecy, the Isere valley, Grenoble, Route Napoleon, Dignes-les-Bains and then ending in Nice (see route map picture)

The charity

This is one of my personal bucket list items, and I wanted to do it for charity giving something to a very important organisation called LITTLE HEARTS MATTER - see www.lhm.org.uk for more details.

The cause

My wife Maxine's cousin Fiona Pollard and her husband James were overjoyed when they found they were expecting their first baby. However, at the routine 20 week scan, they were devastated to learn that their unborn child had a rare, very serious AND incurable congenital heart defect called Double Inlet Left Ventricle, effectively half a working heart. Only about 5 in every 100,000 babies are born with this condition. To allow a good quality of life, they were advised that their baby would need numerous heart operations before school age.

Lucia Grace Pollard (see pictures) was born on 22nd April 2013 and is doing remarkably well, now in her 3rd year of age. Since being born she has undergone two major operations. As you can see from the photos Lucia is a beautiful child and the pictures show the contrast between the sweet innocence of this lovely little girl and the seriousness of her condition.

James and Fiona have been wonderfully supported by LHM, being the only UK charity which supports families with children with a single ventricle condition. They both felt very alone and frightened following diagnosis and LHM have been there from day one. There is always someone on the end of the phone to help with any questions or simply to offer reassurance. The charity has put them in touch with other families in the same situation and the families all support each other, particularly when going through surgery.

With a relatively modest annual income, donations from fund-raising are of critical importance to Little Hearts Matter and I am delighted to be supporting this wonderful charity on my bike ride. I hope that I can encourage lots of donors to dig deep for this super charity.

How to donate

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. 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.