20 years ago today, my dad, John, was killed in car crash. He was on his way home from work and the driver of a van coming the other way lost control of his vehicle and hit my dad’s car head-on. They both died at the scene.
No warning, no chance to say goodbye, just a devastating phone call from my sister who had to break the news to me, followed by incredible sadness.
I don’t talk about this much and so even if you’ve worked with me a long while, you might not know the story, but I’ve decided to use what might have been a very mournful anniversary to shine a light on a new fund-raising initiative I’ve created to honour of my dad and help support the families of others killed, or seriously injured, in similar circumstances.
And so, inspired by other month-long charity events such as Veganuary, Steptember, Go Sober for October and Movember I’m proud to announce the launch of ‘Februsweary’.
At its most basic level this will involve me setting up a swear jar and then throughout February next year, every time I say s**t, f**k, and even c**p, I will put some money in that jar. At the end of the month, any money I’ve collected will then be donated to RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims.
If you want to join in too, please consider setting up your own swear jar next February. Or, if you can’t be a***d with that, it would be equally amazing if you could spare a few quid to throw in mine.
There’s a time and place for everything, but I believe swearing is often unfairly maligned and this might even become a chance to right some wrongs in that regard too.
With this in mind, some of the amazingly talented team at 438 have helped me to build a little website where you can register your details if you’re interested in being kept up to date with Februsweary news, my fundraising antics or learning about ways you (or your company) could get involved.
Sign up here: https://februsweary.com/
Thank you