Tag: daughter Sophie

Mum climbs Pentland Skyline to raise funds for Childline in memory of her daughter

A mum whose teenage daughter died by suicide after viewing harmful content online has raised more than £4,000 for Childline by climbing the Pentland Skyline in Scotland.

Ruth Moss (52), a nurse from Edinburgh, raised the money for the NSPCC-run counselling service, which supported her daughter Sophie several times before she died.

Sophie died in 2014 aged 13 after she watched harmful content online, including material that glorified suicide.

She struggled with her mental health throughout her teenage years, and Ruth encouraged her to contact Childline when she was feeling very low or suicidal so that she could talk in confidence to someone, who was professionally trained and independent from family and teachers.

Despite living with the grief of losing her daughter, Ruth is determined to bring about something positive from her tragedy by raising money for the free counselling service, which is available to young people up to the age of 19, 24 hours a day, all year round.

Ruth completed the 16-mile route with a 5,577 ft climb with her husband Craig and two friends on Saturday, June 15. She said: “It was pretty tough. The Pentlands aren’t that high, but doing 15 hills in one go was sore on the legs.

“But it was such a positive thing to do in Sophie’s memory – as well as for an amazing charity. We took a photo of Sophie with us all the way. I hope we did her proud.”

In 2022/23, Childline delivered 105,366 counselling sessions with children across the UK where the child’s main concern was mental or emotional health, suicide or self-harm.

Ruth said: “Sophie used Childline for quite some time and while the outcome for her was tragic the service provided her with comfort, and I am so grateful to them for being there for her.”

To support Ruth visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ruth-moss-1710585841103

Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk. Childline is there for all young people up until their 19th birthday. Call the police on 999 if you suspect someone is in immediate danger.

Mum to climb Pentland Skyline to raise funds for Childline in memory of her daughter

A mum whose teenage daughter died by suicide after viewing harmful content online plans to walk the Pentland Skyline in Scotland this Saturday (June 15)  to raise money for Childline.

Ruth Moss (52), a nurse from Edinburgh, is raising money for the NSPCC-run counselling service, which supported her daughter Sophie several times before she died.

Sophie died in 2014 aged 13 after she watched harmful content online, including material that glorified suicide.

She struggled with her mental health throughout her teenage years, and Ruth encouraged her to contact Childline when she was feeling very low or suicidal so that she could talk to someone, in confidence, who was professionally trained and independent from family and teachers.

Despite living with the grief of losing her daughter, Ruth is determined to bring about something positive from her tragedy by raising money for the free counselling service, which is available to young people up to the age of 19, 24 hours a day, all year round.

Ruth, who plans to complete the 16-mile route with a 5,577 ft climb with her husband Craig and two friends, said: “This walk feels like a positive way of marking a tragic event. It’s happened to us, there’s nothing we can do to change that.

“But it’s comforting to know I’m helping other young people who may be struggling with their mental health in the same way that Sophie was, and it helps to keep her memory alive, which is hugely important to me.

“When you lose a child you are always wondering what they’d be doing now. I’ve watched some of her friends grow up into beautiful young women and men.

“Sophie would have turned 24 this month and I am thinking she would probably have finished university, she might have a job, where would she be living? There’s a whole future that didn’t happen for Sophie.

“I want to do something to help prevent another family from losing a child in such a tragic way.”

In 2022/23, Childline delivered 105,366 counselling sessions with children across the UK where the child’s main concern was mental or emotional health, suicide or self-harm.

Ruth said: “Sophie used Childline for quite some time and while the outcome for her was tragic the service provided her with comfort, and I am so grateful to them for being there for her.”

To support Ruth visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ruth-moss-1710585841103

Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk.

Childline is there for all young people up until their 19th birthday. Call the police on 999 if you suspect someone is in immediate danger.

William’s Marathon Mission: Running for Sofie and Sight Scotland

William Oviatt is running the Edinburgh Marathon to raise money for Sight Scotland to say thank you for all the help and support the charity gave to his family when his daughter, Sofie, was diagnosed with retinal dystrophy.​

William and his wife Debbi, both from Edinburgh, realised something was seriously wrong with Sofie’s vision when she was just six months old. Sofie had a noticeable wobble in her eyes and was struggling to track objects at baby classes.

Several months later Sofie was diagnosed with retinal dystrophy, a group of genetic eye conditions that affect the light sensitive cells in the retina. It is incredibly rare in children and something she will have for life.​

William, who is head of Business Development, and Income Generation at the Thistle Foundation, explains: “Discovering that your child has visual impairment is heartbreaking and can cause a whirlwind of emotions, and we are just so thankful we had Sight Scotland there to help and support us.

“On Sunday 26th May, I’ll be running twenty-six miles in the Edinburgh Marathon to raise funds for Sight Scotland and to support children like Sofie who are visually impaired, blind or suffer from sight loss.”​

William says the first appointment with the consultant, when it was confirmed that Sofie had vision impairment, was devastating.​

He says: “The first appointment with the consultant was heartbreaking, as we were told the devastating news that Sofie has visual impairment and that there was nothing they could do, as no treatment would help Sofie’s eyes.

“For Sofie to be given this lifechanging news at such an early age was extremely hard to take. It was such an emotional, confusing time, Sofie was just a typical, happy, baby so it was difficult to comprehend why this was happening to her.​

“But after that we were just left to it, we had been given the information by the doctors but were offered no help of what we should do next. Sofie was just your typical, happy, baby so we couldn’t understand why this was happening to her. So we reached out to various charities to try and build relationships and get a better understanding of what we were facing and what we could do to help Sofie.​

“Sight Scotland has been amazing; the charity has a real community and family feel. The emotional support has been just so important, just having someone to talk to, who understands what we are going through, has been invaluable.

“We are in a club that we didn’t want to be in, but we are now so proud to be in it. Whether it is signposting, listening, supporting or the policy group giving us a voice, they are always there to answer our questions and fill in the gaps. There is no way we would feel so strong if it wasn’t for Sight Scotland.​

“This is why I am running to raise money for Sight Scotland, as the support they have given to Sofie, and to Debbi and myself, has been life changing, and I can’t thank them enough and want to give something back.”​

To sponsor William for running the Edinburgh marathon, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/william-oviatt-1711574274491​

For more information on Sight Scotland please visit: sightscotland.org.uk