The Joely Bear Appeal: Comfort, Research, and Hope for Young Cancer Patients
The Joely Bear Appeal was launched in 1995 in memory of Joel Renak, who died aged 4 from a rare form of liver cancer.
The Joely Bear Appeal has three main aims. The Appeal was originally set up to provide facilities to make stays in hospital more comfortable for young cancer patients and their families. The Appeal now also makes grants for research into the treatment and detection of cancer in children. It also promotes the importance of giving blood and of registering on the Bone Marrow panel.
Each of their aims is outlined below:
Hospital Facilities
Any stay in hospital is distressing, even more so when it is a child, and particularly so for someone recently diagnosed with cancer or another life-threatening illness. While the hospital staff will do everything possible, parents spend a great deal of time with their sick child, and the facilities available to them are often inadequate. The Joely Bear Appeal can provide anything from a sofa bed to a games console, kitchen facilities to educational resources. Their aim is to make a child's stay in hospital as comfortable as they can.
Cancer Research and Treatment
The second aim of the Appeal is to fund specialist research into life-threatening illnesses which affect children, particularly research into cancer and liver-related disease. They do this by contributing to the purchase of equipment dedicated to this work, and by funding research projects which relate to their particular area of concern and which would not otherwise be possible.
Blood Donation
The need for regular blood donors cannot be stressed too highly. Everyone expects blood to be available whenever it's required, whether for surgery or for treating patients with other illnesses especially cancer. Unfortunately, only one in twenty of the population who are able to be donors actually give blood regularly and the appeal is active in promoting the importance of doing so. By running three blood donor sessions each year and creating a supportive, family atmosphere at their sessions they encourage all those who are able to contribute.
If you'd like to make a donation to support The Joely Bear Appeal, head to their Wonderful profile page. You can also fundraise for The Joely Bear Appeal, safe in the knowledge that every penny you raise will reach the charity:
