Welcome to our autumn newsletter.
I think we can all agree that summer has made an exit and the long, warm days are sadly at an end; the cold days and nights are well and truly drawing in and it is definitely time to switch the duvet to winter warm 15 tog. Although we have allegedly had the best summer since 2006, we still complain. We say things like: “it’s too warm”, “it’s too muggy” and “we need a thunderstorm to cool things down”. However, in a few weeks it will be “we go to work in the dark and come home in the dark” and “I can’t wait for summer”. Most of us long for summer days and make the most of them whilst they are here and in this month’s newsletter we hear of two families who have enjoyed their summer, with a little help from Young Heroes and its supporters. You can read about how Kim Barnett enjoyed her long awaited break with her twin girls and also about Tom Cooper’s much needed Lanzarote break with his young family.
Don’t shoot me but there is also a little article on how to support Young Heroes and do your Christmas shopping at the same time…..after all, it is just over 70 days to Christmas.
We are also preparing for more ideas for fundraising in 2014. We know it’s early but we really want to encourage our readers to think about something to engage themselves and their friends in by looking at simple and enjoyable ways they can get fit, have fun and raise funds to support young people who are living with cancer.
Until next month.
Regards,
Sharon.
Butlins Adventure
Kim’s story was first featured on our website in January 2010. More of her story can be seen at: https://www.impactliving.org/kims-story/.
I (Nicola Doran) met Kim in 2008 through being fans of Bradford Bulls. We have been good friends ever since; Kim and her girls were even bridesmaids at our wedding in April this year. We referred her to Young Heroes for a respite break to Lanzarote which happened in 2009. Care & treatment for Kim’s condition has been ongoing and because of having to undergo dialysis now, Kim’s options are limited for holidays and trips. Kim wishes for her girls’ life to be filled with experiences that they can remember and treasure.
Kim first heard about Butlins in Skegness from her friend, Adele, who takes her family every year. Young Heroes organised for me to take Kim and her 2 girls to Butlins and we also took my little boy along too.
We arranged for Kim and the girls to have a 2 bedroom apartment on the ground floor. The apartment was well equipped for them and even had an outside area for the children to play safely when Kim needed to rest.
The whole 4 days was non-stop for the children with an itinerary that was packed full of stuff to do. They were never bored and had an amazing experience for their first ever holiday.
Kim enjoyed seeing the girls have a good time, although it was tiring, and she hopes to take the girls again this year.
A note from Kim: The girls and I really enjoyed our holiday. It was really good to spend some much needed quality time with my girls and great friends. The special part for me was watching great memories been made and knowing that after all the fun the girls are now old enough to remember our trip for the rest of their lives. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped to get us there, we really do appreciate it.
We also asked Kim to see if her daughters could draw a picture for our readers, so that they could see what the girls enjoyed most about their holiday. Here are the pictures that the girls have drawn. The pink one is by Jennie and yellow by Donna. Jennie’s is of Billy and Bonnie bear she loved meeting them and Donna’s is of Pingu and Barney as she really enjoyed watching all the kids shows and there is a drawing of a red coat lady ‘cos she said they were really nice and she was Jennie n Donna’s best friend lol. They also said they both really enjoyed the merry go round and push n go horses.
We made it!!
Early in July Tom and Tammy Cooper together with their two little girls Tienna and Ziani came to Playa Blanca in Lanzarote for a memorable holiday. They were accompanied by Tammy’s twin teenage brothers.
It was early evening when they arrived and it took less than five minutes for the twins to be in the pool after their long journey from England. However, that was only the beginning of their evening, for soon after nine there was a request to go back over the mountains to Puerto del Carmen to visit old friends. It took some time to find the right location since the sea front is all one way now and we started at the wrong end! After a few wrong turns and false starts we eventually arrived at the Wall of China restaurant where they had arranged to meet their friends.
Because of Tom’s condition the day was mostly spent around the pool, but once the cooler evenings arrived it was off to the live spots visiting friends and catching up on old times. Unfortunately, because of circumstances beyond my control I had to return home to England on the Friday, but Tom and Tammy were well cared for by those living nearby. However, none of this would have been possible had it not been for the generosity of many our friends and supporters and to you all we are extremely grateful. There are two people who need a special mention though. Frank Seed from Bolton Lions Club who helped with their insurance and Mary Brennan who, through her hard work at her charity shop along with her band of caring supporters, contributed not only financially but emotionally too so that Tom and Tammy’s holiday made a big difference to their lives.
Rob Law
Tom Cooper update and request for support
We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who supported us, to provide a respite break for Tom Cooper in July. Tom was able to enjoy special time with his family, when they visited Lanzarote and they were able to create some special memories and fun times. Tom’s wife Tammy has said “We had an amazing time with very special, happy memories and we couldn’t have done this without Young Heroes. The villa was beautiful, and it was good to spend quality family time away in the sun, having fun without worrying about ‘cancer’ and hospitals”
Tom and his young family have been able to have some valuable quality time together over the last few months and Tom was also working towards being part of a drug trial; which he had hoped would commence in August. However, a few weeks ago Tom received the devastating news that his cancer has spread. Tom was told it is now in his neck, lungs, lymph nodes, and chest and they had found a tumour in Tom’s brain. Tom was told that he could not have targeted radiotherapy, but full head radiotherapy to try and target the tumour in his brain but unfortunately the rest will continue to spread.
Tom and his family are desperate to get the most out of every moment and this includes making sure Tom and Tammy’s little girls can see that Tom is being looked after when he goes for his radiotherapy treatment. It seems that Tom doesn’t want the girls to be scared of the machine used to treat him, or even hospitals in general. There is one special thing that Tom would love/hope to do in November and it is a trip to Disneyland Paris. He loves seeing his girls face light up and seeing them happy, makes him happy. There are of course other things on Tom’s bucket list that he wants to do, but due to his current circumstances some are not possible. Please could you help to make this dream a reality?
If you would like to help Tom to get to Disneyland, please contact Sharon Brown on 0114 2431850 or e-mail me at sharon.brown@impactliving.org.
A Great Big Young Heroes Thank you…….
Impact Young Heroes would like to thank The University of Sheffield Students’ Union’s Treasure Hunt Europe Committee, for their support of Impact Young Heroes in the summer. The students were intending to travel across Europe by train from the 10th to 15th June, but they were hampered by the torrential rain and floods that affected the countries and cities they were scheduled to travel through. In spite of not being able to do this fundraising activity, they still decided to make a very generous donation to Young Heroes of £2,500. We will update you in the near future, on how these funds will be used to support young people who are living with cancer from the Sheffield area.
We would also like to thank Dave Halligan and The Harold Club, Low Moor, Bradford for their kind donation; which helped provide the Butlins short break for Kim Barnet and her young daughters.
We would also like to say thank you to everyone who helped to make Tom Cooper’s bucket list wish of a trip to Lanzarote happen…..we couldn’t have done it without you! We especially thank these contributors and the many others who gave generously to make Tom’s dream, a reality. Here are a few special thank yous to: Norman Patterson, Frank Seed, Farlington PCC, Mary Brennen and her fundraising team, Charlie Down and her mum, the shop assistant at Serendipity in Sands End, North Yorkshire and Nicola Doran.
Stress free Christmas shopping
http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/iyh/
It is official; there are just over 70 days to Christmas. Please do not groan; I can hear you from here!
Don’t worry…..we are here to help you to prepare yourselves for the onslaught of media advertising, pre Christmas sales and the delightful commercial experience that commenced on September 1st and is now in full swing.
Follow these simple steps and you can be the most organised Christmas shopper of all time and you can also help Young Heroes to provide support for young people who are living with cancer…..
- Switch on the computer and make yourself comfortable.
- Open up a web search engine
- Type in http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/iyh/
- Or, if you have not already registered with easyfundraising follow this link: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/support-a-good-cause/step-1/?char=18563 and fill in the registration form, selecting Impact Young Heroes as your charity to support.
- Start shopping from over 2000 retailers and see the frown lines slip from your brow, as you realise you may never have to step foot in a shop again.
- See your donations to Impact Young Heroes add up; at no additional cost to you….the retailers do it all!
See, it is so easy and all there is left for me to say is…..Happy shopping and Thank you!
Young Heroes needs you!!!
Are you fit? Do you want a new challenge? Do you want to help raise funds for young people who are living with cancer?
Do you love to run, swim, go on walks/gentle strolls or would you consider a daredevil sky dive or even a bungee jump? There are so many ways you can help Impact Young Heroes to make a big difference to the young people we support, who are living with cancer and also do something that you enjoy or have always wanted to do……maybe now is the time!
Over the next few months we will be detailing a number of exciting challenges, marathons, skydives and some other unmentionables for the adrenalin junkies out there! So stay tuned and let’s all see what we can do together, to make a big difference to young people who are living with a cancer diagnosis and are undergoing gruelling treatments.
Any fundraising activity you partake in will mean that these young people can enjoy some quality time doing something they will enjoy, with those they are closest to.
Thank you in advance.