A north-east charity has raised more than a quarter of a million pounds to help children with cancer get a day out or a short break away.
Hamish Dear’s Warm Hugs, set up by Hollie and Kris Dear in memory of their son, made the announcement at a ceilidh that raised even more money to give to youngsters.
Little Hamish bravely fought neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer for nine months, but died at the age of three in 2015.
The charity has helped around 100 children each year since, providing gifts, vouchers, toys and even short breaks. Since the pandemic it has also helped purchase play equipment for children’s homes and garden.
Mr and Mrs Dear, from Tarves, celebrated the sixth year of the charity at its third Remembrance Ceilidh for Hamish on May 13 – the first fundraising event since the pandemic.
At the event, they announced the news of the £250,000 milestone – and that was before a further £9,500 was raised on the night.
Mrs Dear admitted she is proud that Hamish Dear’s Warm Hugs has managed to make such a difference to other families.
She said: “It’s incredible to think our wee charity’s maybe not so little anymore and it’s doing amazing things.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because it’s nice that we can do this and make a difference for other children, but it’s knowing what they’re going through and the reasons why we’re doing it.”
‘Little things make the big difference’
Hamish was in hospital in Glasgow hospital for treatment, but there were times the family could leave the ward to go out for the day and enjoy time together.
Mrs Dear added: “When we thought about setting up a charity we based it on what helped us and the little things that made a difference to Hamish going through his treatment.
“We might be a bit different from some of the bigger charities that provide holidays to Florida and extravagant holidays and things like that, we’re smaller in terms of what we’re giving out but we think it’s the little things that make the big difference.
“So it’s nice because I suppose it’s quite personal for us, we’re doing what really made a difference to us and Hamish and kind of passing that on to other children and their families.”
“We never set out with a goal of what we wanted to raise or what we could give out,” she said. “We just really wanted to help other children and put a smile on their faces – that was our goal.
“When we shared the news with the trustees in April that we’d given out a quarter of a million pounds, even they couldn’t believe it.
“It’s often little things or little amounts but it just builds up, we were all amazed by it and incredibly proud that it’s all because of Hamish.”
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