There are a few strong reasons as to why I am doing this.
Firstly, I am fundraising for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead because I have an affected family member, my 13 year old cousin Mark who is currently undergoing Chemotherapy treatment for Leukaemia. During the times that I have visited Mark at Westmead, I have appreciated the work of their staff to help children overcome cancer, to lead happy healthy lives and contribute to our society's future. I would like to contribute my time and effort to help them do the very best job that they can, by not only reactively managing cancer with current technologies but proactively conducting research in pursuit of better treatments or maybe a cure.
Secondly, I decided to swim the English Channel to raise the funds because I have been swimming and training for a long time and I wanted to combine something that I can do well whilst raising funds for this very worthy cause.
The combination of a Channel swim and a children's cancer research fund raiser is a unique one. Approximately only 800 people have swum the Channel throughout the history of mankind (since Channel crossings first began around 150 years ago), it is a most grueling, tiresome and endurance-based feat, so to choose that feat as a basis to raise funds indicates how strong I feel about The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
My attempt at the Channel crossing is booked for July 2008, one of two months recommended by the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) as it is the warmest time for swimming. This will give me enough time to train and increase my strength and endurance whilst seeking as many sponsors for the cause as possible.
I dedicate the swim to the Oncology Unit of The Children's Hospital at Westmead, whose work I admire and appreciate.