J D Wetherspoon celebrates raising £24 million for young people with cancer

J D Wetherspoon is celebrating raising £24 million for Young Lives vs Cancer, the leading UK charity for children and young people with cancer and their families.

Since the partnership began in 2002, staff members at J D Wetherspoon have completed marathons, cycled thousands of miles, baked cakes, hosted quiz nights, hiked mountains and so much more. Their annual Kick football competition and Darts tournament are both a staple in the J D Wetherspoon calendar – raising thousands for children and young people with cancer every year. Today J D Wetherspoon proudly announced that their fundraising stands at an incredible total of £24 million.

Young Lives vs Cancer help children and young people with cancer and their families from the moment of diagnosis. They provide financial grants to ease the burden of funding travel to hospital, food and extra clothes. Their ten Homes from Home also offer families a free place to stay nearby to hospital, keeping families together when they need each other most. Their specialist social workers are there to provide the right support, at the right time. They do it all from liaising with a child’s school to offering parents support when navigating the costs of cancer.

One young person who knows better than most how vital these services are is Farid. Farid, 25 from South London, joined staff at JD Wetherspoon headquarters as well as staff from Young Lives vs Cancer to celebrate the milestone fundraising, which will go on to support more young people facing cancer.

Farid was a student at university, looking forward to a summer of fun with his friends, when he noticed his eye swelling. After weeks of tests, he was told he had a cancerous tumour behind his eye. Farid’s life was suddenly full of uncertainty – unsure where his diagnosis left him with his sight, his studies, his job and his finances. That’s where Young Lives vs Cancer Specialist Social Worker, Mel, stepped in to help bring calm to the chaos.

Mel provided Farid with financial grants – which helped Farid to regain his independence and reduce his reliance on his parents, which he found emasculating. Farid was really struggling with the emotional toll cancer can take so Mel also referred him for mental health support.

She also contacted his university. Farid said, “I had no one who was helping to do that before and I was struggling to do it myself – I would have struggled to do the treatment and complete my studies myself.”

The support didn’t stop post-treatment. Knowing that Farid wanted a career in football, Mel put him in touch with someone in that field. Farid has now secured a job with that person, working in football, just as he’d always dreamed.

“Mel was fantastic and I will never forget the help she gave me throughout my treatment.” – Farid

Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “ We are immensely proud of our association with Young Lives vs Cancer, which first started in 2002. Our staff and customers do amazing work in raising money and we are thrilled that we have reached the £24 million milestone.”

Liz Lowrey Corporate Partnerships Lead at Young Lives vs Cancer, said: “Thank you so much to J D Wetherspoon for raising this amazing amount of money to help young people with cancer.

“Over 4,000 children and young people receive a cancer diagnosis every year in the UK. Our specialist social workers are there to provide tailored support from the moment of diagnosis, to help with everything from speaking to a parent’s employer to taking away the stress of navigating the benefits system so they can focus on what matters – getting through treatment.

“The money J D Wetherspoon has raised will have supported over 16,000 children and young people with cancer from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond – from all of us at Young Lives vs Cancer, thank you.”

For more information about Young Lives vs Cancer’s work, go to www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk