The great big LLTGL abseil!

On the November 7th 2009, Holly and her team of 41 will be taking part in a -gulp!- 100ft abseil down the famous Leasowe Lighthouse on the Wirral to raise funds for LLTGL.

Holly and her team have all been affected by organ donation in some way as recipients, donor families or have lost someone they love because their transplant didn't come in time. For Holly herself, the abseil represents a huge personal challenge that she would never have been able to contemplate without her wonderful donor and their family.

If you want to show your support, please dig deep and sponsor the big LLTGL abseil over at Holly's JustGiving page!

You can also join the Live Life Then Give Life Abseil group on facebook and follow Holly and her team on her blog!

Thanks as ever for your support,

Scared and frightened......

This is our South-East advocate Jess two weeks ago

This is Jess today
Jess is currently in hospital fighting for every breath. Her lungs are failing and so she is wearing a non-invasive ventilator to keep her going. We at LLTGL are very very scared that we are going to lose our beautiful friend all because not enough people are signed up to the Organ Donor Register.

Jess, and others like her who are also facing head-on the harsh and terrible realities of the lack of organ donors, can be saved.

Please take a minute to read about organ donation and transplants
Please sign the Organ Donor Register

Please talk about it with your family
Please tell all your friends
Please tweet, facebook, myspace, bebo- anything you can to get people talking about, thinking about and acting on organ donation.

Without a transplant soon, Jess will die. We don't want to lose such a wonderful girl and a special friend.

Please.

Did anyone see us on the telly last night?!?!

Woah!

Apparently we were featured last night on the Vodafone ads in between the Secret Millionaire programme

We all missed it and are dying to know if anyone else managed to catch the adverts?!?! If so, let us know what you thought!!

WE WON!!

What an exciting night last night was, and we are hugely proud to announce that last night, LLTGL walked away with Best New Charity 2009.

It was the Charity Times Awards 10th Anniversary and the evening was fantastic; we were genuinely surprised (and hugely thrilled) to win, and still can't quite believe that we're an award-winning charity 2 years running!

We've received such lovely messages of support and congratulations and we're really very touched by all the recognition.

They are small words but we have to say them again as there are no others: Thank you all, so very much.

x

Achievements all round!

Our lovely Advocates Jess and Lou both successfully completed their challenges on Sunday - well done girls! Emily went to both to generally shout and whoop and share some LLTGL love, and also to film and take pictures. There is now a video of Jess' day online which you can view by clicking here - Lou's video is coming soon.

We're so proud of both girls for working so very very hard to try to raise funds and awareness.

Tonight is a bit exciting, as it's the Charity Times Awards 2009! We're up for Best New Charity and are rather excited to be finalists for the second year running. The awards ceremony will take place in London this evening, keep an eye on our Twitter feed for updates and check back in here to see how we did!

As we frequently say (but you can't really say it enough) it's thanks to you - our supporters - that we have been nominated yet again; we couldn't do what we do without your help and support. So thank you.

x

The definition of Challenge.

What is a challenge?

To many of us out there, testing ourselves physically would involve something like a Marathon, or climbing a mountain.

On Sunday 6th September, two of our Advocates are taking on physical challenges to raise money for LLTGL. To understand just how these are challenges however, you have to know a bit about these girls.

On Sunday morning, Jess will be participating in the Adidas Challenge 5k, around Hyde Park. Jess has been waiting for a transplant for over 4 years now, and her lung function has dropped to a frighteningly low 11%. Jess needs oxygen 24 hours a day and often requires a non-invasive ventilator to help her breathe. She is going to try and walk as much of the 5k as she can. Considering that at this stage of lung disease, simply sitting up is exhausting, this is going to be very very hard work. You can watch her video here, and more importantly, sponsor her here.

Lou is one of a kind. She is constantly having new battles thrown at her, but still she keeps going. From childhood cancer, to end stage lung disease, this girl never loses her smile. Now post transplant, she is suffering severe complications, including a form of post transplant cancer and heart failure. Lou's body is still taking a battering - walking is out of the question. So Lou is testing her body in a different way, by hugging a tree without a break for 2 hours. For Lou, this is a huge challenge and will take a lot of mental determination to keep going. Take a look at her video here and her justgiving page here.

Both Lou and Jess are hugely inspirational to all of us at LLTGL. They constantly defy Doctors by getting up, brushing themselves off, and ploughing forwards once more. We are so very proud of them and wish them the very best of luck for Sunday.

x

Advocate away weekend 2009

Photos courtesy of Sarah Milne www.giftsoflife.co.uk

On Saturday 22nd August, the LLTGL advocates gathered in London for the first (but definitely not last!) away weekend. We were thrilled that most could make it, but missed Jac - who has only recently joined the team so didn't have enough notice, Nyila - who is on Maternity leave having just had a beautiful healthy baby boy, and Jess - who sadly was just not well enough.

The assembled advocates got stuck straight in on Saturday morning and their enthusiasm immediately lit up the room; we knew straight away this was going to be a great weekend. For many of the Advocates, it was the first time they had met each other, and for some, it was the first time they'd met any of the LLTGL team. Everyone got on fantastically and bonded over spaghetti and marshmallow towers (there was a purpose to this) and cups of tea.

The weekend was full of great experiences and plenty of hard work; from brainstorming, to managing complex scenarios, from giving talks to learning from presentations. There were also some some very emotional moments as personal stories were shared and memories of transplant journeys relived, met by an empathy and understanding that can only be shown by those who have trodden that same path.

Trustees Emily, Pops and Mandy all attended and had a fantastic time getting to know our Advocates that bit better. We've said it once but we'll say it again; we're hugely proud to have each and every one of them on board. Look out for more pics coming soon!

*Edit* - For first hand accounts from the advocates themselves, check out Lou and Holly's blogs about the weekend!