Hi, I’m Alex , 46 year old father of 4 raising money for CLAPA.

I have never been into running or fitness so this is all new to me, running the Edinburgh marathon in May.

I decided to get fit, maybe for the first time in my life, not just for myself and for my family but also to give back to a charity that is close to our hearts.

Our youngest son, Luka , was born with bilateral cleft lip and palate. Never knew much about cleft and what life would be with a cleft child. Not long after finding out our son had a cleft , we received a phone call from CLAPA.

The Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) is the UK’s only national charity supporting people affected by cleft lip and palate.

It provides specialized, non-medical support, including feeding equipment for babies, peer support for families, and, through a nationwide network of volunteers, helps to improve cleft care. 

Their support before and after Luka was born was helpful especially for my wife, who found it all upsetting and stressful and emotionally draining.

We faced some difficult times with Luka after he was born. He had some unexpected hospital stays as well as all planned operations and constant changes to his care as he grew older.

Unfortunately , we also had some unkind comments about Luka and his appearance which was upsetting for everyone . CLAPA offered us some tools to cope with those times and deal with the situations we never faced before. From a simple phone call to a feeding equipment and advice to deal with any changes we faced with him.

I would like to give something back to CLAPA to say thank you. Any donations are much appreciated and will make a huge difference in helping other families. Thank you for your support.