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Dear Friend,

Having come through a very dark period in my late thirties that saw me fighting a pre-cancerous blood condition (essential thrombocythemia), and losing two adult friends to Meningitis I decided two things: 1. Life is too short to bypass your dreams and 2. I wanted to give something back.

I'd dreamt of visiting Peru and walking the Inca Trail for over twenty years, so what better way to combine those two thoughts but to undertake the Inca Trail Challenge for The Meningitis Trust? Having worked hard to bring my health to a new level I trained for 10 months in preparation for the Trek, losing 4 ½ stone in the process, and set off for Peru in October 2009.

Following the success of my fundraising trek in the Andes I have returned from Peru with a new challenge to raise money to help the Peruvian Mountain Children.

Walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was an inspiring and outstanding experience that I would happily undertake again tomorrow, and Peru is a stunningly beautiful Country. However it highlighted to me just how much help is required by the children of the mountains who suffer not only with an extreme lack of food and warm clothing but also live without very basic schooling and medical facilities.

I have therefore undertaken to set up my own charity to help alleviate some of this suffering by hopefully providing micro school and hospital facilities in the mountains surrounding Cusco, in Peru.

My intention is to raise money in the first instance through a Property Prize Competition set up by myself and my mum: fabpad2win.co.uk offers the chance to win one of two properties up for grabs in a "Spot the Ball" type Prize Draw. The two lucky winners will win their own mortgage free apartment whilst at the same time raising money for charity.

The aim is to raise money for the Mountain Children of Peru, the NSPCC and the Meningitis Trust,

The Peruvian mountain children have touched my heart and require just as much, if not more help than those in Western Cultures due to the lack of infrastructure and trade monies into the country. My heart goes out to them and I am overwhelmed by a desire to do all I can to help. I have a number of idea's for raising funds and helping to alleviate some of the suffering experienced by the children in Peru and what better way to start than by also offering two lucky people the opportunity to own their own home in these difficult times (see fabpad2win.co.uk). The charity is in its infancy right now but I envisage offering some very real help through the provision of warm clothes and food within the next 6 months and school and hospital facilities within 18 months to 2 years".

The NSPCC are one of the most recognised UK charities for children and are currently launching a major appeal in the South West to expand the ChildLine call centre, "Childs Voice Appeal". Unfortunately Bristol has the highest incidence of callers to ChildLine in the South West Region and we want to help.

The Meningitis Trust is close to my heart and was the start of this whole new vision for me, so the intention is to continue raising funds for them also.

Children are our future and they have not yet acquired the skills to survive in the world. As adults we have a responsibility to ensure their health, safety and ability to acquire knowledge throughout their growing and formative years. For these reasons I am inspired to set up the charity and raise funds, initially through the Property Prize Competition.

At times, on the Trail, when I started to doubt if I could take another step up I took inspiration from the celebrity crew that climbed Killimanjaro earlier this year, thought again of how far I had come with my health, the dear friends I have lost and how important it is to me to continue to provide help to those that have bigger needs than I do.

I find myself at a new beginning, a vision born out of a love for life and others, a desire to help those in desperate need and probably the biggest challenge of my life. But big oaks grown out of little acorns, we all learn to walk before we can run and we all get by with a little help form our friends.

For these reasons I am writing to ask if you would please help me to help them and enter the competition at fabpad2win.co.uk and enable me to raise funds for the mountain children of Peru. I am hoping with all my heart that you are able to do this for me and for the children here at home and in Peru.

I would be very grateful if you would also be kind enough to pass this on to all of your contacts.

With much love and gratitude to you.

Josie Palmer

Bristol woman on the trail of charity cash - Monday, August 24 - Bristol Evening Post

A Bristol woman is preparing for the biggest challenge of her life – taking on the gruelling Inca Trail Challenge, in Peru.

Josie Palmer, 41, from Windmill Hill, will be pulling on her walking boots in October, treking to heights of 4,200m (13,780ft) to reach Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas, in the Andes, for charity.

Ms Palmer, who works for an international removal company in Avonmouth, is taking on the challenge along with friend Donna Pointing, from Hanham.

Ms Pointing's partner Robert Derrick died of septicaemia in 2002, so the friends will be raising money in aid of the Meningitis Trust, in his memory.

Ms Palmer said: "Sadly, we lost Rob, Donna's long-term partner to the disease, six years ago, at just 33, and three years on from that, we then lost another female adult friend to a different strain of the disease.

"Both left young children missing a parent and partners without their loved one."

Ms Palmer, who also works part-time in a pub, said that she has been greatly moved by the "strong, kind and unwavering support" she has received from friends, her employers and work colleagues.

She said: "In such very difficult economic times as we are all currently experiencing, it brings sheer joy to see people join together with me and support such a worthwhile cause. It really does restore your faith in humanity and the community."

Ms Palmer has been organising fundraising events including lunches and clothes collections. She has also organised a fundraising boat trip on August 29 on The River Princess, a local river cruiser.

Ms Palmer hopes to raise more than £3,000 as part of her Peru trek. She said: "While I've raised £2,650 of that, I'd dearly love to surpass the target for the charity."

To sponsor her, go to www.justgiving.co.uk/josiepalmer .

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