You may have noticed that on Parenting Without Tears that we try to support charities and publicise their activities in our News section or Things to make & do if it involves actively doing something.
We also support on a more practical level if we can. Alex Adie (who writes regularly for us under her married name, Bell) is the Fundraising Manager, National Hospital Development Foundation (NHDF) at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. As such, Alex spearheaded the fundraising for Molly's Fund and the Brain Tumour Unit.
The Brain Tumour Unit is already treating patients and will be officially opened by Molly's sisters in March. The unit will be named the Molly Lane Fox Unit in recognition of the enormous contribution made by Molly's Fund. It is the UK's first ever brain tumour unit and will transform brain cancer care providing support and treatment at every stage of the condition, from assessment through to wellness or end of life.
The NHDF helped make this initiative possible by raising the full costs for the project. Thus far more than £2.4 million has been raised and Molly's Fund has contributed over £600,000.
At PWT we are delighted to have played a small part. Two of our panel, Louise Pollard and Harvey Edgington, celebrated special birthdays last summer and instead of presents asked guests to their party to make a contribution to Molly's Fund, raising over £400. Another member, Olivia Coates, spent a couple of months volunteering for the charity one day a week. And from the website we were able to donate toys and books that were sent to us for their sales and raffles.
We have also started donating baby and children's items to the local branch of the Salvation Army which, as part of their work, runs various mother and toddler groups for deprived families. And last, but not least, we have donated items and supplied balloons to fundraising fayres held at St John the Evangelist, East Dulwich where many of the team's children have been baptised.
If you have a special charity you'd like us to mention on the website please contact us with all the details.