AdamFest raises huge amount for young cancer patients

A family who lost their beloved son Adam to leukaemia in 2009 have raised an incredible £2,218 to support the Teenage Cancer Trust Young Person’s Unit (TCT YPU) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

The Earp family, with the help of a whole host of friends, organised AdamFest on what would have been Adam’s 30th birthday. AdamFest saw 120 people attend an afternoon and evening of music at Joe Joe Jims, a retro gaming bar in Cofton Hackett, Birmingham.

Adam was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2008 and was treated on the Young Person’s Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham before sadly passing away in 2009, two months before his 21st birthday. Reflecting on the treatment that he received on YPU, Adam’s mum Tracey said: “The staff on YPU were fantastic, every single one of them. The care they gave to Adam was incredible and they also helped to look after us.”

The family had planned to mark Adam’s 30th birthday with a party, but just 10 weeks before the big day they decided to raise money for the ward where Adam was treated. Jonathan, Adam’s dad, said: “Adam was always encouraging me to pick up my guitar again and start a band, and after he passed away I decided to do as he had suggested. When we were discussing how we were going to mark his 30th birthday, I thought it would be great to raise money for YPU. Adam loved music, so what better way to do it than putting on a festival?”

As soon as Jonathan and Tracey put their idea for AdamFest on Facebook, the offers of help started coming in. He said: “It was amazing to see so many people offer to help organise the festival, our friend Joe Fletcher offered to host the event at his bar, and offers soon came in from our friends Gareth Williams, Rob Perkins and Daz Bailey at Bayroute Sound and Lighting who provided all of the sound and light equipment for the day.

“All of the bands came to play for no fee which was amazing and we had loads of donations for the raffle including guitars and golf clubs!”

AdamFest was a fantastic success, with everyone present enjoying the range of bands who performed, including headliners 3Sixty. The band’s set included a particularly poignant moment, as band member Mark’s son had also had leukaemia but thankfully survived. The band performed a song written by Mark about their ordeal. Jonathan’s band the Big Wolf Band performed a track off their album called “Darkest of my Days”, a song about losing Adam and the journey of grief that followed.

Adam’s mum, Tracey, said: “It was a really emotional day. One of Adam’s favourite songs was Bruce Springsteen’s Waiting on a Sunny Day. It was played as we walked into the crematorium for his funeral, and his dad performed it with his band at AdamFest. “Jonathan made it through the first verse but then the emotions took over, we were all in tears but it was a beautiful moment. Thankfully Zoe Green had joined us for a few numbers and was on hand to take over the singing for the rest of the song.”

Adam’s family all agreed that he would have loved the whole event, with Jonathan saying: “The event summed up Adam as a person, the venue was quirky and the music right up his street. It was the perfect tribute to him as a person.”

Tracey said: “Adam was an amazing young man. Despite his diagnosis he had the philosophy that every day was a bonus. One of the last things that he did was to buy me tickets to go and see AC/DC, my favourite band. That experience will live with me for the rest of my life.”

Sophie Carroll, Senior Fundraiser at QEHB Charity, said: “The Charity’s thanks go to Tracey, Jonathan and all of Adam’s family and friends for raising such an amazing amount of money to support the young people who are treated for cancer at the hospital.

“The Charity is so proud to provide ‘added extras’ for young patients just like Adam who are receiving cancer treatment at what is already a tricky time of life. Thanks to the support of amazing fundraisers like Adam’s family, we are able to go ‘over and above’ for patients on the ward, funding pizza nights and a specialist teacher for the ward.”

Tracey said: “People don’t understand what YPU does until they’ve been on the unit, the work they do is incredible and we’re all really glad to have been able to raise so much money to help young people on the ward.”

The family hope to hold another AdamFest in the future, and have dreams of holding an outdoor event. Jonathan said: “We’ve received so much support in such a short space of time, there are so many people that we would like to thank for making this possible, including Joe Fletcher, Pete and Gwyn Bispham, Brad Kirby, Deborah Harvey, Charley Fellows and Chelsea Goff and all the team that supported us on the day so many people helped, the guys from Bayroute Sound and Lighting and of course all of the amazing people who performed on the day.

"To Daniel and Louise for staying strong and celebrating their brothers 30th, Adam would be very proud of you both.”

You can find out more about how QEHB Charity supports young people with cancer by clicking here.

Photo credit: Mike Prowse