What a roller coaster!

Hi - my name is Paul Glover. My son has ADHD and a few years ago my wife Robina and I started attending the meetings at the Lighthouse ADHD support Group based in Stafford. At last there were people who understood our family’s issues. With the advice and suggested routes to professionals we all benefited. As the Lighthouse group branched out, activities for the children to meet new friends with the same condition also came on stream.

When you get help, you want to put something back. The Pitch Your Project event which could not only help with advice from seasoned professionals, also offered a route to secure some funding for the group. So, I was happy to help.

To be honest I was totally unaware of what we were to face. We shared a 15 mile journey to the venue. Joanna, Ellen and I outlined our thoughts, decided who would start the talk, what our messages for the panel would be and how we could show the passion we felt for our subject.

We arrived to a friendly welcome and got talking to a chap who had already presented to “The Dragons Den”. He outlined what his experience had been. I felt we had nothing to lose! A roller coaster ride only lasts a few minutes so how bad could 10 minutes in front of the “Dragons” be?

The introductions were over and this was it! With cameras running, timer set…. “You have 10 minutes to pitch to us, and then we will ask questions.”

I started the talk and could here my own voice tremor! But then it came good. By the time Ellen had passionately revealed what it was like for her living with her son’s ADHD and Joanna had given a professional edge to our pitch, the 10 minutes had flown by.

The panel were very sympathetic and asked searching but pleasant questions and then offered ideas of where we could go for help, what is available and how we should structure ourselves.

Well we had done our best, now it was the next team’s turn.

We were met by further professionals, pointers were given, interview filmed, photos taken - it had been an experience. I think we were all relieved, but also quite excited that we had been able make our presence felt. We debriefed in the car back home and then we all fell silent. Now all we could do was wait and see.

To hear we had won the £2000 for our group is brilliant. We can now start to plan activities without the dreaded “But where will we get the money from to do that?”

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