Put on your snow boots and race to the North Pole to help young people across the Isle of Wight face cancer this Christmas.
Young Lives vs Cancer (formally known as CLIC Sargent), the UK’s leading charity for children and young people with cancer, is inviting you to team up and take on the 2,700 mile challenge, the distance from the UK to the North Pole, to help young people with cancer.
Ongoing support
From the minute a child is diagnosed, Young Lives vs Cancer helps young people and their families find the strength to face cancer and everything it throws at them.
Their social workers help with the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis and the overwhelming money worries families face.
Homes from Home
The charity’s ten Homes from Home across the UK also offer families a free, comfortable place to stay. The homes are nearby to the child’s hospital and help keep families together such as Jean’s House which is close by to Southampton General Hospital.
It costs £2,700 per night for all ten of the Young Lives vs Cancer Homes from Home to stay open and coincidentally it’s around 2,700 miles to travel to the North Pole from the UK!
Complete 2,700 miles before Christmas
This Christmas, the charity are looking for companies, schools and groups to get involved with the Race to the North Pole Challenge by getting a team together to complete the 2,700 miles before Christmas.
Whether you swim, walk, cycle, run or jog, teams are welcome to complete the distance however they like. Teams are encouraged to raise £1 for every mile to help keep families together this Christmas.
61 per cent of families go into debt when their child has cancer
Young Lives vs Cancer found that 61 per cent of families go into debt when their child has cancer due to the spiralling additional costs. Families face mounting fuel costs, hospital parking and heating bills all while watching their child go through treatment.
Young Lives vs Cancer Homes from Home help families financially but also importantly means that families can remain together at such a difficult time, especially over Christmas.
Support for Islanders
Almost 240 children and young people from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were supported by the charity at Southampton General Hospital last year, which is the nearest Principal Treatment Centre for young cancer patients from the Island.
Jean’s House the charity’s Home from Home in Southampton can have seven families staying at once and on average a family stays almost two weeks.
Blunt: Help us continue to keep families together during toughest time of their lives
Liz Blunt, Fundraising Engagement Manager – South Central at Young Lives vs Cancer, said,
“What families have to go through is unimaginable and it’s so important to us all that we can provide vital support at such a harrowing time in their lives.
“We only have our Homes from Home thanks to the kindness of our supporters as we don’t receive any government support.
“By signing up to the North Pole Challenge, Isle of Wight residents will be able to help us continue to keep families together at the toughest of times. If you have a team that would like to take on this fantastic challenge, please do get in touch.”
Visit the Website to find out how to sign up.
News shared by Liz on behalf Young Lives vs Cancer. Ed
