Love you to the moon and back

Mission: Cover the distance to the moon and back in space miles.

Distance to the moon =477,710 miles = 9554 space miles

Launch Date: 01/03/2020

Return to earth: 31/08/2021

Target: raise £10k to be equally split between

The British heart foundation,
The Aplastic Anemia Trust,
Jack Hazeldine Foundation
SANDS - Stillbirth and neonatal death charity

If you would like to sponsor one of our astronauts to complete their pledge please follow the steps to donate, putting the name of your astronaut in brackets at the comment stage.

Why?

Whilst in the Army in Sept 2007 Merv was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with , a rare life-threatening auto-immune disease that stops the bone marrow from producing blood. Merv was given 9 months to live. After 8 months of unsuccessful treatment to save his life it was decided, as a last roll of the dice, that a bone marrow transplant was possible. Merv had a match, the transplant worked and a forever grateful Merv was told to go out and enjoy life. 

The Aplastic Anaemia Trust is the only charity in the UK focused on allied rare bone marrow failures specific to aplastic anaemia, and supports patients & their families through this rare disease

www.theaat.org.uk

In July 2018 Merv & Beccy’s youngest son Teddy was born with heart failure. Teddy underwent open heart surgery whilst still very little, and is fed by a nasogastric tube. Luckily it is a heart defect that can be managed, so he can live a normal life at home. Teddy has banding around his arteries and has multiple operations ahead of him, but he is firing on all cylinders regardless!

The British Heart Foundation raises money to research cures and treatments, so they can beat heartbreak forever 

www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do

Local to Merv, The Jack Hazeldine Foundation aligns with Merv’s belief in role modelsand support systems for children.  As a son and a father to three boys, Merv knows his family is lucky, but that other children know hardship too well.

The Jack Hazeldine Foundation empowers & inspires at-risk young people North Somerset and Bristol through the provision of bespoke mentoring, tutoring, outdoor education and therapeutic programmes.

www.thejhf.org

The fourth charity chosen to benefit from this campaign is Sands, the stillbirth & neonatal death charity.

Merv says “ . , - . , .”

Sands works in partnership with health care professionals, trusts and health boards and offers a range of neonatal training programmes and bereavement care resources to ensure that every bereaved parent and family receives the best possible care wherever they are in the UK.

www.sands.org.uk