TWO brothers are in the mountains in aid of Julia’s House.

Michael Corica, 27, and his brother, Matthew, 30, are beginning their climb up Mount Kilimanjaro today to help the Dorset children’s charity.

It is the first challenge that they have done together.

They held a fundraising charity raffle at their jointly-owned shop – Charmed at Michael Matthews in Westover Road, Bournemouth – to add to the funds.

Michael said: “I’m pretty confident about the climb now and more so than when we started.

He added: “I’ve done a couple of treks before but nothing of this height, so we’ve been practising with 30-mile walks every weekend.

“It’s a brilliant charity and a couple of years ago, after my brother’s son was born, it really brought home the importance of children’s charities, such as Julia’s House.

“They work hard at Julia’s House and it takes a massive dedication to work there and give such a lot.

“There are simpler things that we could do, but it’s easy to set the target low and achieve it, rather than aim high and persevere.”

Matthew said: “I wanted to raise money for children, after my son, Joseph, now two, was born and him coming into the world showed me that there is nothing more important than kids.

“Julia’s House need people to fundraise to make the money that keeps them running.

“And while I’ve never run more than one mile before, if you’re going to do something for a good cause, you want to raise as much as possible.”

CBBC star Chris Jarvis, patron of Julia’s House, was on hand to draw the results of the raffle.

He said: “Julia’s House work so hard to make the difference and obviously, these are really difficult times where it’s hard for every charity.

“Every little bit makes a difference and I think that what Matthew and Michael are doing is a great example of how everyone can get involved.

“I wish them all the best and I know that I couldn’t do what they’re doing.