Activities such as sponsored head shaves and spooky cake bakes helped staff at Bath-based housing association Curo raise more than £6,000 last year for a cancer charity focused on children, young people and their families.
Young Lives vs Cancer was selected by Curo’s 500-strong workforce as its charity of the year, with all fundraising feats staged during the 12 months dedicated to it.
Other activities included walking challenges and a live music event.
All money raised for the charity will directly support young people and their families who are navigating the challenges of cancer, with vital services including:
- 100 nights at ‘home-from-home’ accommodation, providing families with a comfortable place to stay during treatment.
- 260 hours of one-on-one support-worker time, delivering essential face-to-face assistance.
Funds will also go towards financial hardship grants for travel expenses, food and toiletries.
Shortly before Christmas Curo employees Chloe McGowran, Emily Witt and Madeleine Webb visited one of Young Lives vs Cancer’s home-from-home properties in Bristol, pictured.
During the visit, they saw how, in contrast to more clinical hospital settings, the accommodation is a welcoming sanctuary for families to stay in during difficult times.
They also heard how the charity provided support to the family of Esme, a three-year-old girl who was diagnosed with cancer one Christmas.
Young Lives vs Cancer fundraising engagement manager Charlotte Rutherford said: “Everyone at Curo has been so friendly, communicative and eager to get involved.
“The warmth and responsiveness of everyone I’ve spoken to has made this partnership truly amazing.”
Curo chief executive Victor da Cunha added: "Young Lives vs Cancer is a charity that has touched the lives of so many people, including many of us at Curo.
“I’m incredibly proud of all our colleagues who’ve helped to raise this fantastic amount.”
Curo, one of the South West’s largest housing associations with a portfolio of 14,000 homes, is best known in Bath for its flagship 700-home Mulberry Park development on former MoD land on the city’s outskirts.
