Our daring supporter Julie will be pushing herself to the limit by climbing to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money after we  provided vital care and support to her friends and their baby son, George.

Julie Rhodes will be taking on the eight day climb next month, aiming to reach the epic summit of 5,895m.

Julie, who lives in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, wanted to raise money for after  her friends Natalie and Mark and their one-year-old son George receives care at Hope House.

“I met Natalie and Mark through work at a charity event one evening and we all instantly just hit it off,” said Julie.

“That night I told Natalie I really wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and she said she’d always wanted to do a skydive. We had started looking at dates for the skydive when Natalie became pregnant with George so we had to postpone.”

George was born in November 2023 via emergency c-section. A scan of his brain at six days old showed damage likely to lead to severe motor and cognitive impairments. George cannot feed, is partially blind and experiences seizures.

“Seeing all they have been through since George was born and hearing about the amazing care and support that Hope House has given them, I decided I needed to do my challenge to raise money.

“What Hope House has done for this family and do for other families is unbelievable and I wanted to help in any way I could.”

Sponsor Julie

Julie, who works for a medical company, will be jetting out for the challenge on February 6^th and is aiming to raise £3,000.

“It’s really going to be pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I absolutely hate the cold and I’m not all that great with heights, but thinking about George each day will be all the motivation I need.”