Hi there guys - my dad will be running the London Marathon in April 2014 in aid of
MACS - a small charity in which exists to help children (and the families of children) born without eyes, or born with partially formed eyes.
I would be very grateful if people would be kind enough to sponsor him and/or circulate this message to help support MACS.
You can sponsor him by visiting the
Virgin charity website and searching for "Gerrytherunner", or
going directly to his page.
Many thanks for your support
Some more information on MACS:
We owe our origins to a journalist from The Observer who, in 1993, was investigating the possibility that Microphthalmia, Anophthalmia and Coloboma, were caused by pesticides (scientific proof of this has not been found) . Through his research, he brought together a group of parents and the Micro and Anophthalmic Children’s Society was born.
The parents of these MACS children had little or no access to information or support and most had never met another family whose child was affected - a lonely and overwhelming situation for any parent.
A year later, MACS became a charity and has not looked back! Thanks to the many dedicated parents who have volunteered their time and energy over the years, MACS is now a key source of information and support for hundreds of families across the
UK and worldwide.
As all of the charity’s volunteer trustees are parents of a MACS child, they have a clear insight into families’ needs and how children can be helped to cope with life as blind or visually impaired people.
MACS is here to support families at each stage of their journey by providing peer support, financial aid, equipment to make day to day living a little easier or, by enabling a child to take part in a life changing, or even an everyday, activity.
We hope that access to this range of opportunities will also help children to develop their skills, share their experiences and better understand their eye and health conditions.
MACS goals:
+ Raise the profile of these rare conditions
+ Encourage families to support each other
+ Provide beneficial rest for parents, children and extended family members
+ Provide financial assistance to MACS families who need to purchase equipment or services to help meet their specific needs
+ To become the leading international resource on Anophthalmia, Microphthalmia and Coloboma, for parents and professionals.
