Let's hear it for the Givers!
The country's top fund raisers are revealed at the JustGiving Awards 2015
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Your support makes all the difference.Every year JustGiving - the social-giving platform partners of the Independent on Sunday's Happy List - recognises their top fundraisers.
In a few weeks' time, men, women and children across the country who have made an extraordinary contribution to charity will be crowned the 2015 winners at a glittering event in London.
In the run up to the event, we are telling the remarkable stories of those finalists, who are voted for by the public, across six categories.
One such hero is Gordon Aikman, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a terminal illness, when he was 29.
Since then Gordon has been raising money to help find a cure for the illness. “It’ll be too late for me, but we must find a cure for the next generation.”
Being told that he only had a few years to live is particularly difficult to hear - and even more so for a young fit man. However Gordon turned the negative into something positive and has created a JustGiving page to raise money to help others with the same illness.
So far, he has raised over £350,000 for MND Scotland.
“100% of your donation will be spent on cutting-edge research to help find a cure,” said Gordon, Director of research for the pro-UK Better Today Campaign and a former Labour party policy and communications adviser.
Gordon is also responsible for “Gordon’s Fightback”, highlighting the six points the Government need to address to help patients with MND, and urges people to tell their MP and MSPs to back his campaign.
Nicola Geraghty, a member of the public who nominated Gordon for an Award in the Outstanding Commitment category, said: “Gordon has been an inspiration in his commitment to not only fundraising but also raising awareness of MND. He has chosen to use the time he has left to try and ensure other people won't have to suffer in the way he and so many other MND sufferers have done.”
MND is a progressive disease that attacks the motor neurons, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. Messages gradually stop reaching the muscles causing weakness and wasting. This can affect how people walk, eat, drink, talk and breathe. There isn’t a cure yet, but the symptoms can be managed to guarantee the best quality of life possible.
Anyone wishing to can donate to Gordon's Just Giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/gordonaikman/.
For more information on “Gordon’s Fightback” campaign visit: http://gordonsfightback.com/.
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