Charity - Close to my heart

Each year we choose a charity to support and this year the charity is Ataxia UK.

This may be a little known charity but is an organisation I am very pleased to support. I am especially pleased with this year's charity because I suffer from Cerebellar Ataxia, one of the many forms of Ataxia. Thankfully my symptoms are mild and amount to no more than a problem speaking, a problem writing, difficuties with co-ordination and, at times, feeling generally "washed out". If anything, it could be described as frustrating because, often, I can't do what I wish or what I used to do. Equally, this might just be down to getting old.

Ataxia is a degenerative brain condition and is progressive - meaning that it does get worse. It gradually robs sufferers of mobilty, co-ordination and speech. The speed at which the condition progresses varies greatly from person to person. In the word of one doctor "It might be many years before there is any deterioration but I wouldn't advise taking up rock climbing".

Rather than spend a lot of time describing the difficulties that sufferers can go through I will post some links to short You Tube videos that can describe things better than I ever could. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxv_5nyO1QE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wnugGhdr4o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj2WQfu4MhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVJcAVaW87g

The first is rather hard hitting but the others are more "optimistic".

Our aim is to raise awareness of Ataxia and to raise as much as possible over the next 12 months. This will be formally launched at our Budget Breakfast Briefing on Thursday morning but we have prepared a charity page at http://www.justgiving.com/Crowther-Beard-llp for donations. Your support would be vey gratefully received.

We don't think its enough to just ask others to give and apart from our fund raising activities (including a Cream Tea in June and a Golf Day in October) and asking for donations we are going to pledge that some of the money we receive for the services we provide are paid to Ataxia.

For each new client - we will pay for Ataxia UK to send DVDs to 5 young people learning to cope with Ataxia.
For each piece of tax planning – we will pay to print 100 info leaflets to raise awareness.
For each piece of business planning - we will pay to run the helpline for a day.

Please help.