The last 3 months have been an incredibly busy but rewarding start to the year for the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust. Since Christmas, we have been concentrating on the work that the charity carries out, both in terms of awareness, but also in terms of funding research and family support too. Here is a little of what we have been doing.

We are very grateful to Jane Cahill who helped make this possible. A big thank you to everyone that has helped with this in any way. As was mentioned on social media, the cards have already reached and helped a child be diagnosed far earlier than they would otherwise have been, giving him a chance of a better outcome. In time, we really hope these cards will save lives. We are working hard to enable our cards to be spread even further afield. We will keep you updated on our progress.

In February, the Royal College of General Practice released an e-learning module for General Practitioners. The Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust was approached by Clic Sargent to help with peer review and providing content for the module, including our awareness card. Currently, GPs receive very little if any training on childhood cancer through no fault of their own. Through this module, and a series of educational materials that we have been building on our website, we aim to help change this. To work with the RCGP, Clic Sargent and the Teenage Cancer Trust on this module was a huge step forward for the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust, and wonderful that we could be involved.

Following our Christmas Jumper fundraising, we have been busy collecting in funds raised. So far just over £7,000 has now been collected which is wonderful. The even also raised a lot of awareness of the trust too and we still have a couple of locations still to send in their funds. Thanks again to everyone that took part.

A big thank you also to St Martin’s School, Solihull who sent us a cheque for £2,000 earlier this year. This was from a number of wonderful fundraising efforts over the course of a year. Thanks so much to Emma Inglis and all others that made this possible. Thank you also to Rachel Bidwell and Louise Clines who raised a fantastic £1,800 by requesting charity donations instead of birthday presents at a party they recently held.

There have been a number of other fundraisers as well over the last few weeks. Our thanks go to all that have helped in any way. It is with your help that the work of the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust is being continued.

Upcoming Events

We have an action packed few months coming up in terms of fundraising. Some of the personal challenges being done are absolutely incredible!

8th April – Michelle Nolan and Ellen Boaz in the 31 mile canal challenge

23rd April – Team run4esther, Liz Acaster and Christine Adams in the London Marathon

May 20th – Ladybird Fun afternoon at Bishop Perowne School

21st May – Jo Geals in the Worcester half marathon

28th May – Team Family Willis in the Manchester 10K – Emily Haslam and Judith Willis

9th June James Rees – Great North Swim 10km

1st July – Michelle Nolan and Shelley Jew Lewis in the 100km Cotswold Way Challenge

The group is already serving as a place where people can meet others in similar situations. Up until now, there has been no such group, and most parents never find another family with a rhaboid tumour. In the last 4 weeks, 32 separate families from around the world have found this group. Of these, 16 are  from are from the UK. Some are parents of angels, some children are fighting and a couple are in remission. Sadly, many of these children will become angels over the next few months to years so this group will hopefully provide a small amount of comfort.