Encephalitis Society Ambassador Role

8 June, 2009

When I got back from Beijing I was inundated with requests from charities and other good causes. Unfortunately, given my on-going training regime over the next 3 years to 2012, its not physically possible to fulfil all of the requests. But I did really want to use my new found popularity to help others in some form. So I decided to look for a cause which was close to my family, in the hope that I could make a significant difference to one cause, rather than spreading myself too thinly over too many causes.

 A few years ago, my sister Laura suffered from encephalitis, so when we found the Encephalitis Society, a charity which supports people affected by the illness, it seemed like a great cause to commit to. At the time she became ill, we knew nothing about the illness and therefore I hope to raise awareness of the illness in the hope that other families don't have to go through what we did. It means a lot that my success in the swimming pool will enable me to increase the understanding of the disease and hopefully help raise funds to undertake additional research.

 I'm really looking forward to working with and meeting members of the society over the coming years