President’s Charity, Daisy Lodge in Newcastle
As President of the NIBA this year I am delighted to announce that the Cancer Fund for Children are my nominated charity for this year. The charity offers support to children and young people aged 0-24 diagnosed with cancer and to their families, and also to children and young people aged 0-17 who have a parent diagnosed with cancer.
They currently support 652 families throughout Northern Ireland, offering both individual, parental, hospital based, and bereavement support through their incredibly dedicated support staff.
The Honorary Secretary and myself had the privilege of visiting the charity’s respite centre Daisy Lodge in Newcastle. Here families can leave the hospital environment behind and enjoy quality time together with their families in a safe and supportive environment. With 12 bedrooms the centre can cater for a small number of families at the one time where new friends can be made and families can support each other. Unfortunately sometimes this is the last family holiday some children or their parents will have.
The centre is a state of the art facility, and it really opened our eyes on the facilities that they offer.
At the Narnia Lodge Cabin on the same site, groupwork programmes allow children and young people with similar cancer experience to build friendships and develop self coping skills through residentials, again supported by the dedicated staff.
Throughout the year my club North Down will run a raffle to raise funds for this charity and welcome any donation of prizes from any business or company.
Please contact me through the North Down Facebook page or direct on 07989972454