A year of sporting challenges for Headway Sussex fundraisers

The Brighton Half Marathon

Kicking off the year, Claire Glasgow ran the Brighton Half Marathon for us on Sunday 27 February. It was a bright, sunny day,  if a little windy along the seafront with plenty of supporters along the route. The atmosphere certainly helped carry Claire along especially during the last couple of miles when the wind along Madeira Drive and fatigue really started to set in. She was really pleased to complete the course in a respectable time of 2 hours and 11 minutes.

Taking on the half marathon was a personal challenge for Claire. After quite a sedentary couple of years of home-working and home-schooling, she was glad to have the motivation to getting active again. She was also pleased that the race gave her the chance to raise money for our cause.  Working as an Associate in the Personal Injury team of London-based lawyers, Field Fisher, she has gained an insight into life with an acquired brain injury. This was a big part of her motivation to fundraise for us.

Before the race, Claire said ‘Working with people who have acquired brain injury in accidents and assaults, I  hear about the positive impact that Headway’s work has – both for them and their families. Living in Sussex, I am running to help fund the important and life-changing support and services that Headway offers in this area.’

Claire set herself a fundraising target of £750 but she completely smashed that by raising a £1505. With Gift Aid added on,  her total raises to £1851.25.  Thank you Claire, this is an amazing achievement and we’re so grateful for your efforts!

BM Ride

On Sunday 10th April we have a team of four cyclists taking part in the 50km BM Ride ahead of the runners in the Brighton Marathon. Our intrepid four come together from different corners of the acquired brain injury (ABI) world, each with their own motivations but all keen cyclists.

Ian and Rachel both work for HCML, a company who specialise in providing case management and treatment services to the insurance industry, solicitors and the corporate and public sectors. They assist injured and ill individuals to recover and return to work or to their pre-injury condition. Ian is the Director of Personal Injury, Rehabilitation & Case Management and Rachel is a Rehabilitation Case Manager.

We also have Anastasia, an Independent Woodwork Teacher who teaches at our centre in Newick. She runs two sessions on Fridays encouraging clients to work on set projects that challenge cognitive and physical skills. Client’s  also end up with pieces they can take home with them afterwards. Finally we have Penny who supports a young lady with an ABI and has worked with her for the last 5 years. She attends the Worthing Headway Support Group and Penny is usually there with her. She really enjoys the Headway group and all the people that go each month. The young lady she works with is a true inspiration and has come such a long way in the time she’s known her and is continually changing.

Their fundraising mission is just beginning and they have a team target of £1500 to reach. You can find their JustGiving page here

(Picture L-R: Penny & Anastasia, two of the members of Team Headway)

Anthony’s very personal challenge to help others

(Picture L-R: Nick and Anthony)

With support from his friend Nick, Headway Sussex client Anthony will be taking part in the Run Gatwick 5km race on Sunday 8 May. This is no small feat for Anthony as he has limited mobility following his accident that left him with FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) and C-PTSD (Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This left his nervous system stuck in fight and flight.

Reflecting on his accident, Anthony says ‘When you have an accident like a brain injury, you realise you’re not in control as you were before. It’s a huge hurdle to accept. Faith has helped me. Each day is a challenge and I look at it from a different angle now’

He is raising money to pay for therapy that has helped him so much on his road to recovery.  It will cover EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) counselling through certified therapists recommended through the charity PTSD UK and Brain Injury counselling with Headway Sussex. Anthony has found both practices a huge benefit in his road to recovery dealing with trauma, one of the contributing factors to his FND. Raising funds to allow others to have the same platform to aid them in their road to recovery is very important to him.

If you would like to support Anthony on his 5k challenge or find out more about him, take a look at his JustGiving page here

Joanna’s epic cycle from London to Paris

If you’re a leisurely Sunday afternoon cyclist, spare a thought for Joanna who’s in training to cycle from London to Paris over 4 days this June. Covering 532 km, she’ll be cycling through the Kent countryside to Dover before crossing the channel and heading down through Northern France into Paris. She’ll sweep along the Champs Elysees before finishing under the Eiffel Tower. It’s bound to be a challenging but memorable few days.

Joanna works as an Occupational Therapist so has first-hand experience of working with people getting to grips with sudden life changes. She’s seen first-hand the work we do to support and encourage people to move forward and rebuild their lives after brain injury.

She says ‘From the beginning Headway Sussex was the obvious charity of choice for me. It’s local and does excellent work with people who experience such sudden life changing events such as a traumatic brain injury or stroke.’

If you would like to support Joanna on her cycling challenge, you can find her JustGiving page here

The George Ide Stride for Headway Sussex

Our thanks to Chichester-based George Ide Law Firm who are organising a 17 mile sponsored walk across the South Downs on Saturday 25 June. They’re an independent law firm offering a comprehensive range of specialised legal advice, including personal injury claims.  Their aim is to raise much-needed funds to support those with brain injury and their families and they recognise how we are a much-needed lifeline for many.

They’ll be setting off early from Washington in West Sussex and walking to Ditchling Beacon in East Sussex, with a few pit-stops along the way. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for favourable weather! Clients, trustees and staff are looking forward to supporting them along the route.

If you would like to support them on their 17 mile walk, you can find their JustGiving page here 

Keep an eye on our social pages over the coming weeks as we share the news from all our intrepid fundraisers. If you would like to fundraise for us, however big or small, we’d love to hear from you and share your event with all our followers.