It was during my work on the tills at Sainsbury's that I got chatting to Denny Wise, the founder of Forces Children's Trust. This struck a particular chord with me as I am hoping to join the Army.

Having spoken to Denny and researched what the charity does, I was determined to help this vital and often overlooked work. As I was taking a gap year between Sixth Form and pursuing an Army career I had wanted to take on a hard physical challenge, and it seemed perfect to be able to combine this with helping such a worthy cause The Forces Children’s Trust who are celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year - does incredible work in providing opportunities to those children who have lost a parent, or whose parent has sustained life threatening injuries, whilst serving in the British Armed Forces. The Forces Children’s Trust provides opportunities for the children and their families to enjoy a range of activities from which they can gain support and confidence from each other in these most difficult times. These include: educational trips; holidays to Disneyland Florida; Spain and other countries; the FCT Adventure week in association with the Outward Bound Trust, which has been a great success; bereavement counselling weekends, theatre visits, and the annual Christmas party - a highlight in the FCT calendar. But the help doesn't stop there! Recently a much needed laptop computer and special software was provided for a young dyslexic boy who had lost his father. Supplying this equipment will enable him to further improve his education skills.

While nothing can take away the pain of losing a parent, the activities and support offered by the Forces Children's Trust, help the children realise that they are not alone in their grief, and allow them to meet those in similar situations to themselves. Due to this, many lifelong friendships and wonderful memories have been made. To help a child really is an honour, and the Forces Children's trust does just that.

This is why on Saturday 22nd March I completed a trail Marathon along the hilly Dorset Coast from Portland to Lulworth Cove in an effort to raise as much money as possible for the Charity. It was my first event of this distance and combined with the terrain and gradients, it was a gruelling yet rewarding experience. I was very lucky that the weather remained dry and sunny, although the coastal wind was predictably strong at points. It was a great feeling to cross the line at Lulworth Cove and know my effort was helping such a worthy cause.

Your donations to my page would be greatly appreciated and you can do this through: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/harrypepper1 Details of the Forces Children’s Trust can be found at: www.forceschildren’strust.org Based on information supplied by Denny Wise.