Signed books a plenty..

Since I last wrote Ella has received an exciting parcel in the post...

She was over the moon with the book and also really touched with the little card that Katie Piper had written her. 

Seeing her face light up was a great reminder as to why I'm putting all this hard work into organsing the Walk and The Send Off Event.  

I coloured Ella's hair today - I try to keep it a natural colour but as she's getting older she wants to express herself. She's always talking about piercings etc - she's not old enough yet and hopefully she will change her mind a little once she can do it! It's so hard to advise her, I can see why she wants to take control over her body after everything she has been through, however I don't want her to do anything she will regret. 

Anyho here is the end result...

I popped in to the Jack Wolfskin store in Bath today and spoke to Phil who was very helpful. I learnt all about Minerva wool socks and waterproof boots. Me and Steve are heading to Cornwall on holiday next week, so I want to get my boots before then to test them out!  Im still not sure which ones to get, they are a pretty important purchase!

Twitter has once again done me proud. I have been in touch with some of my favourite authors (you may have guessed by now, I love escaping into a good book). Marian Keyes and Jill Mansell have said they will send me a signed copy of a book. Whoop! I'm so excited about the signed book prizes.

Im still looking for someone to help me with a marquee. I'm hoping for a dry crisp November day, however just in case it rains I want somewhere for everyone to stay dry. It doesn't even really have to be a marquee, just some shelter. 

Raffle Licence will be purchased tomorrow so from then we can officially sell raffle tickets. 

Let the selling commence..

www.justgiving.com/teams/walkingforella

New prizes and tees!

Greetings from Charity Fundraising Land. I can't think of anything else at the moment - it's taken over my life!

The raffle prizes are still coming in from very kind local businesses/people.

Added to the prizes we now have a pair of boots from Duo Boots in Bath, to be chosen by the lucky winner up to the value of £250!! 

www.duoboots.com

(I wish I could enter)

I can't quite believe I'm going to write this next section..  If you fancy a trip to the beautiful town of Kotor - Montenegro, then you better get buying a raffle ticket and keeping your fingers crossed!!! We have a 7 night stay in an apartment situated in the very heart of Kotor's old town. 

Flights, which will be the winners responsibility, go direct from Gatwick to Tivat and take just under 3 hours - then just a 15 taxi ride away awaits the stunning destination. 

www.owen-roberts.co.uk

Whoop!! 

I have also received through the post today a signed copy of Freya North's book. Freya is one of my favourite authors, so it was pretty amazing opening it up!  The signed copy of Secrets will join the other raffle prizes. 

www.freyanorth.com

I will be having a coffee and a chat with Velvet Teas soon. It will be a fantastic chance to see what the company offers and we will be having a think about whether they will offer a raffle prize or be there with a yummy cake stall on the Send Off Event. Yum either way! 

www.velvetteas.co.uk

Our Katie Piper Foundation Tshirts have also arrived!! 

On the walking side of things - I am aware that all my effort is going into arranging the Send Off Event and raffle, so today we factored a little walk into the day. Me and Steve both had a day off and spend around 4 hours walking. Needless to say I'm pretty exuasted and am now starting to realise what a mamouth goal we have set for ourselves. Hmm.. Next day off we will be aiming to walk for around 6 hours. Considering the shortest walking day over the Walk To Cornwall is around 8, I think it's important to get the hours clocked up soon! 

Off to my fitness class now.... *yawn*

Balloon Rides & Logos

Things are developing pretty quickly here.

We have had a fantastic donation from Bath Building Society of a Balloon Ride!! 

www.bathbuildingsociety.co.uk

The Balloon Ride will be added to our other prizes for the raffle, for which we are still scouting for more! So if anyone has any ideas please feel free to comment or tweet! Katie_J_Marley

Twitter has been a good source of support for The Walk. In particular BathCoUk have been great at retweeting and helping me out! I wanted a Logo and BathCoUk pointed me in the direction of their parent company. Created in Bath then very kindly offered to make me one!  How amazing does it look below?!!

 
www.createdinbath.co.uk

I have been in touch with the helpful Bath Council to talk about which space would be suitable for our Send Off Event and need to wrap my head around things like Public Liability Insurance (?!)

Having never organised anything other than a wedding, this is a whole new experience for me. It's really made me realise how many hoops there are to jump through to get things going! It's all a positive experience though and everyone that I've spoken to has been so helpful.

I have also updated our Just Giving Page to include The Frenchay After Burns Club - you can now choose which charity to donate to - or hopefully split the donation and give a little to both.

www.justgiving.com/teams/walkingforella

Kindness and free sleeps!

Ella has been at camp with the FAB Club for a couple of days now and they have been raft building and racing, followed by windsurfing! Sounds like she's having an amazing time, although I think my mum and Alfie the dog are missing her.

So the List is growing and we have also decided to add a charity raffle into the mix!

I have had some very kind people in Bath help me with some prizes for the raffle..

Maya Make Up has donated a make over.

Www.Mayamakeup.com

Bath PC Repairs have donated a laptop/pc service.

Www.Bathpcrepairs.co.uk

Pitch Perfect Camping have donated a nights camping and 30% off of Longleat tickets.

Www.Pitchperfectcamping.co.uk

Flowers of Bath have also said they would like to help in some way. 

Www.Flowersofbath.co.uk

Thank you so much guys!

The council have been contacted to hopefully help provide a space for the Send Off Fun Day! 

The girls in work have come up with some great ideas - anyone fancy a Mohawk?! 

I am now working on sending many many emails to hotels in Street to see whether our first night of The Walk could be donated!

Whilst I type this I'm currently sat around our table with Jess thinking of places to contact for big raffle donations.. Current thoughts -  a car!! Theres nothing like Thinking Big! ;)

  

www.justgiving.com/teams/walkingforella
www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk 
www.fabclub.org.uk/

Thinking of Fun & Money Making!

Who knew there was so many things to think about when trying to raise money for charity!

I have been thinking of ways to get our story out there and have relied on social media so far - possibly the easiest way! Lots of my friends have shared my blog page, which has been very helpful.

Ella went off on Camp today with the Frenchay After Burns Club (FAB Club) which is a charity that helps inject Fun into the lives of children and teenagers with burn injuries. She has been looking forward to the Camp for ages and will have a great time.

Whilst waving Ella off I realised that our 200 mile walk to Cornwall wasn't enough.

I also need to do something Fun for everyone!

I have decided to organise a small Send Off Event in Bath to help raise funds for the Katie Piper Foundation and also the FAB Club.

Currently looking for venues in Bath. Any ideas?

I've always loved a good bouncy castle...

Ella having Fun with Donald Duck when she was younger. Time Flies!

www.justgiving.com/teams/walkingforella
www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk
www.fabclub.org.uk/

The Plan

I don't know whether we are mad or just determined individuals, I like to think the latter!!

Me and my husband Steve are planning on walking to Land's End in Cornwall.  We are starting our trek from the beautiful City of Bath.

We will be covering approximately 200 miles and will be doing it within 1 week! 

We are doing this long walk to raise money for The Katie Piper Foundation and Frenchay After Burns Club. They are both amazing charities which are close to our hearts.

When my beautiful niece Ella was 3 years old, she suffered burn injuries which have gone on to affect her and the way in which she lives her life.

Ella has had numerous plastic surgery operations throughout her life to help the appearance of the injuries.

She is now 13 years old and is turning into an incredible young woman. However, she has been through and continues to go through a lot day to day.

As you can imagine appearances are everything to a 13 year old and The Katie Piper Foundation gives strength to people in similar situations with burns and scars. 

I will be sharing our story along the way. From organising the event through to walking!!

Please follow us on here and also take a moment to pass by our Just Giving page, where you can give a little money to such a worthy cause. 

www.justgiving.com/teams/walkingforella
www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk
www.fabclub.org.uk