Zac’s Fund to help more children and young people with cancer
A charity fund started to help a Shropshire boy receive pioneering cancer treatment in the USA is set to help more children and young people with cancer.
Zac’s Fund was originally set up in 2018 to raise £500,000 so that four-year-old Zac Oliver of Broseley could be treated in Philadelphia for a rare strain of lymphoblastic leukaemia. The community fund raising was a huge success and Zac was able to receive the treatment. Six years on he remains cancer free.
The legacy of that fund raising effort is now being overseen by Shropshire Community Foundation, in partnership with Zac’s family, to provide financial support to children and young people with cancer.
It distributed it first round of grants earlier this year when six grants were awarded to three charities working with children with cancer and three individuals.
Now the Foundation is appealing for applicants to come forward for a second round of grants which can be used to support children and young people up to and including 21 years of age with a cancer diagnosis across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin.
Shropshire Community Foundation trustee Sonia Roberts MBE said: “We are very proud to have been trusted with the legacy of Zac’s Fund. This amazing community fund raising effort which helped to save Zac’s life is now being used to support young people in similar circumstances.”
The grants- totaling £12,000 – are open to both individuals, families and organisations and each award is tailored to the project and scope of work involved. Applications can cover a wide range of ways of supporting a child or young person with cancer including interventions, education, charities, days out, research or treatment.
Sonia said that whilst there was no limit set on the amount of individual grants, the Foundation would like to help as many organisations as possible.
“A cancer diagnosis for a child or young person is a devastating experience for the individual and everyone around them. We hope that a grant from Zac’s Fund could help those families find a way through the diagnosis and lighten the burden at such a difficult time,” she said.
The fund is open to applications from Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin although awards can be made under special circumstances to applicants from outside the county. Applications opened October 25th, and will close on December 4th. Applicants will be notified on February 1st 2025.
Further information on the grants and how to apply is available at https://www.shropshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk/open-grants/a-gift-from-zac/
The second round of grant applications opens as local health champion Healthwatch Shropshire publishes a report on the experiences of people living with cancer in the county.
Healthwatch Shropshire has been visiting groups across Shropshire to speak to cancer patients, their families and those who support them about their experiences while also asking others to share their feedback through a survey.
They heard from nearly 400 people who shared their views on what is working well, what is not working so well and their suggestions for improvements.
The full report can be found at https://www.healthwatchshropshire.co.uk/report/2024-10-10/living-well-cancer
Caption: Zac Oliver – photo by Be Bold Media
