Footballers raise funds for teens with cancer

Members of Bartley Green Football Club have made a generous donation to QEHB Charity, in aid of teenagers with cancer being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Three footballers who play for the Bartley Green team – Paul Nash, Paul Jerons, and Pat Goulding – went for the entire month of November in 2015 without shaving, growing some impressive facial hair! Thanks to sponsorship donations towards their efforts, they were able to raise over £500 for the Teenage Cancer Trust Young Persons Unit (YPU) at the QE.

Paddy O’Neill, a Steward for the club, came to visit YPU on Wednesday 27 January to see first-hand where the kind donation would be spent. With him was his wife Dawn O’Neill, who is a member of auxiliary staff at the QE. She often works on YPU and is therefore familiar with the importance of the ward to the patients and families who benefit from it. The kind-hearted couple presented Laura Beacham, Teenage and Young Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist, with a cheque for £510.

Laura said: “Generous donations like this are what helps us keep YPU a pleasant environment that is tailored to the teenagers and young adults who stay here. Sometimes patients need to stay for quite a long time, and it can make such a difference for them to have something other than their illness to focus on. We are so grateful to Paddy, Dawn and Bartley Green Football Club for their vital support.”

QEHB Charity funds a number of ‘added extras’ for YPU to help make each patient’s stay on the ward as enjoyable as it can be. This includes musical instruments, video games, DVDs, pizza nights, and even a specialist teacher to help patients continue with their studies or give career advice. To donate to YPU, please go to www.qehb.org/donate-form