Tyneside charity opens respite caravan in Berwick for children undergoing cancer treatment
Tyneside charity, Toma Fund, officially opened a respite caravan yesterday (May 21) to help families with children who have diagnosis with cancer.
Charity founders, Andrea and Dave Thompson of West Denton in Newcastle, unveiled the new home from home at Berwick Caravan Holiday Park with help from former Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper – a patron for the Toma Fund who has personally donated £10,000 towards buying the caravan.
The Toma Fund was set up by the Tyneside couple after their son, Jordan, lost his battle with acute myeloid leukaemia in September 2007, aged just 15, and Sophie Ela Atay (Jordan’s cousin) tragically passed away from neuroblastoma in March 2010, aged just 2.
After cutting the ribbon on the new caravan, Andrea spoke to the Chronicle Live publication saying: “It was a lovely day, the sun shone down on us and I said to someone, ‘Jordan is working his magic, giving us good weather.’
“We are over the moon with the caravan and cannot wait to start using it for what it is there for.”
With the holiday home open to families 42 weeks a year and set to run for five years with the funding, covering a specially fitted ramp for wheelchair access and running costs, the first family is already booked in for next weekend – and they can’t wait.
Speaking about her future aspirations for the caravan appeal, Andrea said: “I just hope that families will be able to gather a lot of memories for the future for those children who go on to live normal lives, that they can look back at some point and know they had a good break.
“For bereaved parents, it is about giving them some time on their own so they can get away from everything.
For more information on the charity visit www.tomafund.org or follow the twitter account @tomafund.
To see how the Toma Fund all started, click on the player below:
