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My name is Helen Gasparelli and I am a wife, a mummy and proud to say that I have the honour of being the MAPS manager.

MAPS is a life changing project that supports vulnerable children and young people, who have challenging lives. MAPS gives them the space and time they need to reflect on their situation or to simply forget about it for an hour and enjoy life, being a kid – something that they just don’t get to do.

I first joined MAPS myself as a volunteer over 8 years ago. I had just moved to the area and wanted to get involved with my community and I thought that volunteering would be a great way to do this. I had the luck of stumbling over the Volunteer Centre Sutton and met with a member of the MAPS team; before I knew it I had signed up, completed a mentor training course and was supporting a young person. That was it, I was hooked and the rest as they say is history……..

Within a few short weeks I knew working with young people was what I should be doing. I signed up to do a youth work degree, took on two other voluntary roles and applied to MAPS to be a coordinator, drastically changing my career. Here I am 8 years later, now the MAPS Manager and I couldn’t be happier.

I honestly believe that I have the best job in the world, who works with the most hardworking team and inspiring volunteers in a community that really does care about each other.

I have the honour of seeing first hand how mentoring supports children and young people who really have experienced or are experiencing some very real difficulties in their life. Challenges such as being a young carer, living with a family struggling with substance misuse, have a parent with mental health issues, have experienced or witnessed domestic violence, are being bullied, that self harm or that have adolescent anxiety or depression, who are a looked after child, are experiencing difficulties with their own mental and emotional health and well being, have been bereaved and so much more.

This amazing project helps raise young peoples confidence and self esteem, supports them to recognise their worth and to show them that they do matter and can achieve in their life no matter what. Each young person is unique, their needs are unique and MAPS really support young people as they need to be supported.

To help support this outstanding project and the young people it helps I have decided to abseil down The Orbit tower in the Queen Elizabeth Park. This is a structure that stands 262 feet tall and gives you views 20 miles across London (I will be sure to notice the views when hanging from the edge of a very high building!!!!!). To make this even more terrifying you don’t walk down the structure like you do with a building, you in fact have to lower yourself with ropes moving through the steel structure….. just writing this is making my hands sweat.   

This will be a real personal challenge, I wouldn’t say that I am scared of heights but you could describe me a risk adverse (to put it mildly). I know that I can do this though as I will be thinking of all those amazing young people that MAPS supports, they are my inspiration. No matter what life throws at them they do their best to get up and move forward. With that in mind I make this commitment to them that I will do this, I will abseil down the orbit to raise money to support more young people who so desperately need our help.

I know I am biased but this is an amazing charity that do so much for the children in our community. Please help me to support them by making a donation and by sharing this page with your friends, family, colleagues, strangers, people in the super market queue….  Just about anyone so that they can donate too. Thank you so much for all your love and support. xxx