Leicestershire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner have presented a cheque for £4000 to a Leicestershire children’s charity ‘Wishes 4 Kids’.
The fundraising was prompted by Caroline Neal, a Human Resource Manager at Leicestershire Police, whose own daughter, Hope, was granted a wish from the charity.
The money was raised at a charity ball last November which raised £2000 – a sum which was matched by Lord Bach, the Police and Crime Commissioner, from The Police Property Fund bringing the total to £4000. Proceeds raised from the sale of recovered and stolen property is sold at auction if, after a period of time, it hasn’t been claimed or returned to its rightful owner.
All awards from the Police Property fund must be used for charitable purposes.
Wishes 4 kids (W4K) is a local charity which provides wishes to poorly children living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland who are either life limited, terminally ill, have experienced life-changing physical or emotional traumas.
Founded in 2002, the charity provides experiences such as a three day VIP trip to Euro Disney or meeting a celebrity.
The average wish costs the charity around £700 and they rely solely on public donations.
Caroline’s daughter, Hope, is now fourteen-years old. She was the first person in the UK to be diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer called Nephroblastomastis when she was one.
Hope spent two years in hospital fighting her cancer battle through regular sessions of chemotherapy. She is now a healthy and happy teenager and has been inspired from her experience with the charity and time in hospital to become a child’s cancer nurse.
In 2008, Hope’s wish to meet a Disney princess came true thanks to W4K. Hope and Caroline were collected in a limousine and flew to Euro Disney in Paris. They were made to feel special from start to finish with amazing attention to detail like meals that included Hope’s favourite food.
Caroline said, “I am the lucky one, I walked out of the hospital with my daughter. W4K gave me happiness in a world where there is sometimes no happy ending.
"I am very grateful to the force and the PCC for supporting Wishes for Kids and making such a considerable contribution to their fundraising. They will be able to help many more children like my daughter."
Caroline is running twenty miles in the ‘Ashby 20’ on Sunday 24 March to raise even more money to add to her already outstanding figure of £30,000.
Caroline has set up a donation page for people who would like to contribute to her charity run.
www.wishes4kids.co.uk
Wishes 4 Kids 67 Regent Road Leicester LE1 6YF
Telephone: 0116 2543491 Facsimile: 0116 2543492 Email: info@wishes4kids.co.uk
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