Ahryn defies learning difficulties to raise money for local cause

Aug. 31, 2011 - PRLog -- 11 year-old Ahryn Bedford conquered the 1,344 metre summit after a gruelling five and a half hours battling against wind, rain and minus temperatures. Despite suffering a sprained ankle and knee on the way down, Ahryn and her mum Lucy were delighted with their achievement and hope that the money raised will help others to be diagnosed and treated for a range of serious eye conditions at the specialist unit in Reading.

Sponsored by local listings website HugoFox.com, Ahryn strived to raise £500 for the Reading-based Dyslexia Research Trust (DRT) with her climb, with the charity having helped her defy her learning difficulties and increase her reading age dramatically over the past few months.

From the age of five, Ahryn has had trouble coping with memory recall and her development soon fell behind at school, despite being a bright and capable child. Having seen teachers, psychologists and specialists, Ahryn’s mum Lucy was no closer to an answer:

“Trying to find out what was hindering Ahryn’s development was like climbing a giant mountain and never quite reaching the top. It wasn’t until I came across the DRT that someone finally listened and understood exactly why this was happening. It’s with their help that Ahryn has developed dramatically, as well as growing in confidence.”

Ahryn’s new-found positivity and drive are what prompted her to start raising money for a challenge which has mirrored her own personal struggle.

Michael Thompson, founder of local listings company HugoFox.com, is proud to sponsor Ahryn’s climb. With the DRT having diagnosed and treated serious eye conditions in both of his twin sons, the charity has a great deal of significance for him and his family.  He says:

“The whole team are proud to have supported Ahryn and Lucy in their quest to raise money for such an important local cause. We encourage other local businesses and individuals to pledge their support and help the DRT treat other children with vision-related learning difficulties in the area.”

Ahryn added: “It was tough, but also an amazing adventure and I hope to show other children with learning difficulties that no matter what problems we have, we can do anything we want to, just the same as everyone else - even climbing a mountain!"

Lucy added: “We would both like to take the opportunity to thank the team at HugoFox.com for supporting us, and we hope other local organisations will follow their lead in showing support for the DRT.”

It’s not too late to donate! Visit: http://www.justgiving.com/ahryn-bedford.

For further information, or to arrange to have your children’s eyes tested, visit http://www.dyslexic.org.uk or check out http://www.hugofox.com/charity/.

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Based in Kingsclere, HugoFox.com was formed last year with the aim of providing local people with a means of buying, selling, advertising or recruiting online. Just one year along and the company has seen a huge interest from people across the South, and Chairman Michael Thompson is thrilled that the company’s success has enabled him to contribute towards local charities and the sponsorship of a number of sports teams in the area.

Formed upon the premise of ‘keeping things local’, the site has become popular with community websites across Hampshire, and is now able to offer listings for services, classifieds, cars and charities for free.