Happy New Year!

Looking back on 2020, it has been a different one for our charity, as we are sure you can all relate. We went into this year with a full calendar of events for the families, many fundraisers and talks for local community groups but like everyone else, our world was turned upside down when lockdown was announced. We had to work together to quickly adapt our services and ways of working so that we could continue to support local families going through cancer. The uncertainty was very difficult, cancelling all family events, shutting our caravan and office doors and knowing all of the funds we would normally raise through our fantastic fundraisers were not going to be there was a very daunting thought.

But, as always we turned a negative into a positive, moving support for the families to over the phone and online, continuing to grant wishes at a distance, and coming up with new projects to let the families know we were still there. One of our biggest projects this year was our family meal deliveries where we teamed up with local catering company Green Fig who sent delicious, freshly cooked meals to the families we support as a treat for them all to enjoy. This project was kindly funded by supporters and grants from a range of organisations who have each been thanked individually for their wonderful support.

This year we were also very excited to introduce our very own app developed by Nick from Yellow Island which was a huge and exciting step for us. A lot of our fundraising moved to online with our online raffle, sponsored head shaves and the introduction of our Club 100, as well as receiving amazing support through grants from some wonderful organisations.

Of course, another huge and unexpected event this year has been our recent move of office. When we received the news that our Polegate office would no longer be available to rent next year, we began our search for a suitable premise, we were lucky enough to find a wonderful spot in Lower Willingdon, not far from our home town and still in a central location for the local families that we support. We are settling in nicely and would like to thank everyone who has helped us with our move including our wonderful staff and volunteers, DWD Telecoms and Price Guard.

To round up the year and give the families one last treat for 2020, we once again teamed up with Green Fig and delivered some beautiful Christmas hampers to each of the families we support across East Sussex, Brighton & Hove. We have had some amazing response surrounding the hampers and were delighted to put a smile on the faces of the families we support.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts for the kind support you have shown us throughout the year. Thanks to you, we have continued to support local families with a child affected by cancer and continued raising vital funds for our charity. Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year from all at Children with Cancer Fund x