I was honoured to join Action for Stammering Children (ASC) with Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth for their Gala Dinner on Tuesday night (24th February 2015).
I am a huge supporter of ASC and their goal of reaching every child in the UK who stammers, which is very close to my heart, given my own experience of learning to cope with a stammer.
I’ve run the London Virgin Marathon for the last three years, and despite my full intention to run a fourth, this year’s general election has enforced a fallow year for me. However I am keeping up my support of ASC and their vital fundraising by supporting the Unlock a Child’s Voice appeal.
Eighteen year-old Arielle, who is a client of the Michael Palin Centre, officially launched the appeal last night. Arielle gave a moving speech about her own experience of receiving therapy and support from the centre, demonstrating both the enormous progress she has made, and the positive impact that ASC have.
The appeal seeks to unlock the potential of 10,000 children affected by stammering.
By raising £1.5m over the next three years, ASC can transform the lives of more children across the UK. The money raised will pay for support and training for specialist speech and language therapy so more children can be seen for one-hour therapy sessions, as well as funding more specialist research into the causes of stammering.
Last year’s achievements are something to be proud of. ASC helped 3,000 children learn to cope with their stammer and trained 500 speech and language therapists to give specialist therapy to children around the country. But this year let’s help ASC do more.
The Unlock a Child’s Voice appeal will help ASC continue their vital work.
Help spread the word using #UnlockaChildsVoice and together, we can change the lives of children who stammer, making sure they have the confidence to reach their full potential.
To donate, just click here to help Unlock a Child’s Voice.
