PRESS RELEASE

Now all the places to run in the London Marathon have been confirmed, J's Hospice founder, Denise Whiffin has sent out an appeal for any participants looking for a charity to support: “RUN FOR US!”

Help the Hospices is the Official Charity for this, the 25th Anniversary Flora London marathon, and The J's see it as a perfect opportunity to raise their profile and some money, too!

The J's Hospice Charity (Registered Charity No: 1099562) aims to open the first Hospice in Essex for young adults between 18 and 40 in need of respite care by 2006. It will be run along the same lines as Douglas House, recently opened in Oxford, and will cater to young adults from all over the region.

It will be dedicated to the memory of Jonathan Whiffin, a former Cathedral School pupil, who died of Duchnne Muscular dystrophy aged 19.

“£6.5 million is needed to build, furnish and run the hospice for the first year,” says Jonathan's mother Denise, “and there is a real need for this facility - the average age of patients using adult hospices is 72, and that would have been Jonathan's next step as he had grown out of the children's hospices.”

So, whether you want to run dressed as a chicken, an Incredible, or just go as yourself, run for the J's, and help young adults like Jonathan.

For more information, contact Denise Whiffin on 01245 475052 NOTES FOR EDITORS

the hospice will cater for young adults from all over the region

- there will be ten bedrooms, a lounge, art, games and music rooms, a sensory room, a gym and a beauty salon, to enable these young adults to get as much out of life as they possibly can. There will also be accommodation for family and friends.

Jonathan used hospices regularly from the age of 14, but when he was about 16 his mother realised he had grown out of the children's hospice. “Although his needs were being met,” she says, “the atmosphere wasn't right for a young adult. Jonathan's next move would have been to start using an adult hospice. This is the gap The J's aims to fill.”