Lloyd's Charity Awards

 

 

On Wednesday 14th December I was lucky to collect a Lloyd's Charity Award.
 

The Lloyd's Market Charity Awards are donations to charities supported by individuals from across the Lloyd's market. The awards are run by the Lloyd's Charities’ Trust, a grant making charity which provides charitable donations on behalf of the Lloyd's market.
 

Donations are given to charities supported by individuals working in the market in recognition of their fundraising and voluntary work, and to charities that have given invaluable support to those in the market whose lives have been affected by difficult circumstances.
 

I nominated the Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association for a £2,000 award and out of 60 applications I was very lucky to have been selected amongst 29 other inspirational causes.
 

I invited two members of the charity (Anne Klepcz and Dave Gable) to the ceremony, who found it an inspiring experience and fascinating to see the inside of the Lloyd's building.

 

Since October 2013, when I started fundraising for the Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association, with a huge support from Barbican Insurance, by the end of 2016 we would have raised a total of £22,500. This has had a huge impact, with the charity being able to approve a grant for research at Moorfield's Eye Hospital. We will also been continuing our support so the charity are able to approve more research going forward.
 

 

WORLD KERATOCONUS DAY!

Today is the first World Keratoconus Day organised by The National Keratoconus Foundation in the US. Their aim is to spread the word all over the world. #WorldKeratoconusDay

 

So today, I'm spreading the word by celebrating and announcing that on top of Barbican Insurance providing the Keratoconus Group (UK charity) with £7,500 this year, I've also received a charity award from Lloyd's of London with a donation of £2,000! In 2012 the charity had only received about £5,000. By the end of this year, we would have donated a total of £22,500!

 

Our fundraising has helped in many ways but one thing that really stood out to me is that the charity has been able to accept a grant for research at Moorefield's Eye Hospital this year (images below), in hope to find the cause behind this awful condition. The fundraising can't stop here, the more we raise, the more support we can give!

 

On a day as important as today it would be amazing to see more donations. Please click on the link below to donate: https://www.justgiving.com/kshsa

 

It doesn't matter how big or small, anything would make a difference to such a small charity.

Thanks to everyone who have donated so far and especially to Barbican Insurance for all of their support.

 

 

Keratoconus for life

Keratoconus is a condition for life until we're able to find a cure.

So I thought I would get something else for life...

I designed a symbol that would have a meaning behind this condition - A twinkle, it could represent a star to some of you but to me it's a twinkle of the eye. I might have an eye condition not known by many but I'm lucky to currently have this condition under control, others haven't been as lucky and I'm hoping this will become a trend for those who suffer.  

Keratoconus Group 25th Anniversary Conference

Thanks to all the fundraising efforts so far the KC group were able to organise their largest event this year which I attended on Saturday 17^th September.

The Keratoconus Group 25^th Anniversary Conference was organised for members which celebrated 25 years since the very first KC Group support meeting and 20 years since they became a registered charity.

Mike Oliver (Chair of the charity) had made a couple of funding applications to help cover the costs of the conference however the money that I’ve raised together with Barbican Insurance had contributed significantly. The members of the KC Group could not thank me enough at the conference and said our fundraising has helped enormously.

It was also announced at the conference that the KC Group were able to approve a grant for funding a research project that is part of a larger programme of genetic research into Keratoconus, led by Stephen Tuft, corneal consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital. It was mentioned that in previous years, the KC Group would have had to say no to a request like this, but thanks to our efforts, they have been able to approve the grant. I’ve also been given the opportunity to visit the research facility at Moorefield’s Hospital.

It was amazing to hear that our fundraising efforts have had a huge impact for the KC Group and we will continue with our support.

There were some great speeches from professors, ophthalmologists and members themselves who helped support others who are suffering.