CLIC Sargent’s Homes from Home Appeal
Sandra and Barry McGuigan
CLIC Sargent is the UKʼs leading cancer charity for children and young people, and their families. They provide clinical, practical, financial and emotional support to help them cope with cancer and get the most out of life. They are there from diagnosis onwards and aim to help the whole family deal with the impact of cancer and its treatment, life after treatment and, in some cases, bereavement.
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Two Homes from Home for Northern Ireland
When a child is diagnosed with cancer or leukaemia, treatment must start immediately, either at The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children or The Belfast City Hospital and Northern Ireland Cancer Centre. Life will never be the same again as the family start a long and uncertain treatment journey, involving both long stays in hospital, as well as daily out‑patient visits. Unexpected practicalities will add very real challenges to families already trying to care for a very sick child. Teresa Sloan, appeal director at CLIC Sargent said; “On average a family in Northern Ireland will make a round‑trip of 95 miles, up to five times a week so that they can access the cancer treatment their child needs. “This puts a big financial strain on the family with the cost of travel and possibly temporary accommodation while their child is undergoing treatment. “However, good news is on its way for children and young people being treated for cancer in Northern Ireland. Our Northern Ireland Appeal will result in two new Homes from Home in Belfast, within walking distance of each hospital.”
very week two children or young people in Northern Ireland are told the devastating news that they have cancer.
“This Appeal will not only help to ease the burden on families, it will also help to support the services currently provided by CLIC Sargent in Northern Ireland.”
Barry (Appeal Patron) and Sandra McGuigan (Appeal Chair) became involved with CLIC Sargent after their daughter Danika was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 11. In Barryʼs words; “The help that CLIC Sargent gave me and my family pulled us through what were very dark days. The whole family benefited from the CLIC Sargent Nurses ‒ they taught us to understand the illness, which in turn gave us confidence and strength”. “We know that CLIC Sargent Homes from Home are desperately needed in Belfast and that they will help to reduce the emotional and financial strain for hundreds of families in Northern Ireland, so Iʼll be doing whatever I can to encourage people to donate to, or support the Appeal.”
“CLIC Sargent has almost 30 yearsʼ experience of building and running Homes from Home, so we know that families really value the service and we hope that the public will generously support the appeal, so please join me in supporting CLIC Sargent and helping us to realise our ambition of two CLIC Sargent Homes from Home in Belfast.”
CLIC Sargent currently provides nine Homes from Home across the UK. This proves they have strong experience providing excellent Homes for families. However there is no facility in Northern Ireland at this time.
Rachel Johnston and her daughter Honour from Millisle received CLIC Sargent support. Honour was diagnosed with a rare ovarian cancer in 2011.
Speaking about how important the facility would have been to their family, Rachel said; “If
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there had been a Home from Home we probably would have relocated to Belfast. Just to be close to the hospital would have been so reassuring. The fear of being so far away is something which you donʼt expect. But it really adds to the stress.
“Sitting for hours in a hospital also adds to the anxiety. To go to a Home from Home, and go to sit in a comfortable and homely environment would have been great for us. It would have eliminated all of the travelling which took its toll on Honour and made her very sick.” To meet the needs of children, young people and families in Northern Ireland CLIC Sargent must raise £3.5million. They aim to have families staying and relaxing in both Homes from Home by the end of 2014, otherwise families will be forced to continue enduring the impact of considerable travel.
We can only achieve this with the generous support of businesses from across Northern Ireland. A partnership with CLIC Sargent will make the world of difference. We offer many opportunities for your company to get involved, including charity of the year partnerships, sponsorship opportunities, an extensive events portfolio for employee engagement, as well as donor recognition and volunteering possibilities. Our dedicated corporate fundraising manager will work with you to develop a partnership which will let you and your company achieve your charity goals and help create a lasting legacy for children and young people with cancer. To find out more information about the Homes from Home Appeal or how you can support CLIC Sargent, contact Eimear McCooey corporate and major donor fundraising manager at
Eimear.mccooey@
clicsargent.org.uk or call 028 9072 5780.
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