We have a potential Olympic champion in our community at St Luke's and we want to help raise funds for the vital training and competition that could pave the way to the podium. Can you help?
Curtis Miller, who lives less than a hundred yards from St Luke's, has been part of our gang of young people since they were all infants. Now 19 he's a British Champion Fencer. From the age of 11 Curt has been consistently ranked either first or second in the country for his age group - but now it's make or break time ahead of Olympic selection.
Still a junior fencer, Curtis has begun competing in international senior competitions in order to move up the rankings. Earlier this year he was in the Junior World Championships in Jordan, beaten by only 15 points to 14 by the fencer who came second. This month (May) he put in such a good performance at the Men's Sabre World Cup that he's won selection for competitions in Warsaw and New York - which means he's in a strong position to be selected for all the competitions necessary to get Olympic qualifying points.
But none of this comes free: the cost of travelling and accomodation, kit and training are more than he and Allison his mum can afford. That's why St Luke's wants to help. We've set up a special Curtis Miller Olympic Appeal and we're aiming to raise £3-£4,000 from an appeal within the church and our friends. For example the cost of a Sabre alone is £30 and Curtis gets through nine a year - maybe you could donate one.
If you can make a donation please make it payable to St Luke's PCC and mark it 'Curtis Miller Appeal' . (For bank transfers the account to send the money to is : Payee name: ST LUKES PCC / Account number:16948653 / Sort code:60-11-14
As well as fund-raising in and around St Luke's, Bernadette Cagnoni is co-ordinating a small group exploring how to raise bigger funds in the Olympic run-up from trusts, charities and commercial opportunities. If you have ideas or experience or routes to funds, she'd love to hear from you - email Be at stlukespcc@hotmail.com
We'll be bringing you more news about Curtis in the weeks to come. Thanks for reading. On your marks, get set....