by Sean Paul Curry 

AT certain points in your life an event or situation will have a profound impact on you, so much so that you stop and think to yourself how lucky you are to live a privileged life.

A few years ago my best friend lost her father to cancer.

I had one of those moments where I couldn't imagine going through what my friend and her family were going through. All I knew was that I wanted to do something to remember a great man and to give thanks to people who helped him.

I had always wanted to abseil off tall buildings so I thought doing this would help a great cause at the same time. The charity I chose to raise money for was Cancer Connect.

In the weeks before the abseil people from all over the country were brilliant in supporting my money raising efforts. Everyone who donated was very kind and many left inspirational comments of support for my challenge.

This was great confidence booster and gave me a great feeling of pride and a sense that I was doing something that will help people suffering from cancer in the future.

I completed my abseiling challenge and my target of raising £1,000.

Last year someone I worked with in my time as a youth worker died. She had taken her own life. I was in complete shock.

This was another one of those points where I stopped and thought how lucky I am to live the life I live so while I am strong and healthy I am going to do what I can to raise money for charity.

In a few months I will be travelling to Australia with my family. While I am there I will be taking part in a tandem skydive for a mental health charity.

If anyone is stuck in a rut and you feel you need to make a change then I would highly recommend volunteering for charity or taking on a challenge to raise money. There is no better feeling than helping others.