A NEW holiday home for child cancer sufferers – funded by a range of Buckinghamshire organisations - was opened this week by the Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund.
Marlow based firm Dun and Bradstreet donated £22,000 towards the three bedroom holiday lodge on the coast in New Milton Hampshire bringing the fundraising charge to an end after two years.
The other organisations in Bucks which contributed were The Penn and Tylers Green Super Fun Run Committee, Whiteleaf Golf Club, The Misbourne School in Great Missenden, Whiteleaf Furniture in Princes Risborough and John Lewis in High Wycombe.
The charity has spent £50,000 on the lease, ground rent and furnishings but hopes hundreds of sick children and teenagers will benefit from breaks away with their families while undergoing treatment for cancer.
Most children are referred by The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford because this is the nearest treatment centre for children living in Bucks.
The new lodge will run alongside the charity's other holiday home which opened in 2005.
Both homes are sited on the cliff top at Hoburne Naish holiday village overlooking the Solent, the park provides extensive leisure facilities and entertainment.
Elaine Ball chairman of the Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund thanked all the organisations and individuals who donated.
She said: "Everyone has been so kind and worked very hard to achieve this goal.
“It was great having Dun and Bradstreet onboard, the employees really rose to the challenge and were very much hands on with the fundraising, they baked cakes, recycled mobile phones, washed cars and took part in collecting days and sponsored events.
“All money raised by the employees was generously matched by Dun and Bradstreet.”
The charity was started eleven years ago by Thomas Ball, then aged ten, while he battled against neuroblastoma - a rare cancer that affects the nerves - diagnosed two years previous.
Thomas died in June 2003 aged fourteen.
To make a donation or to find out more about the charity please visit the website www.thomasball.org.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here