Christchurch family raised £11,500 for children’s cancer charity

A CHRISTCHURCH family have raised more than £11,500 for a children’s cancer charity as their five-year-old continues treatment for leukaemia.

Charlotte Smith and her mum Kirsty Williams recently organised a grand raffle draw which features over 100 prizes donated by local business and individuals. The total raised on the day was an incredible £8,660 which will support the charity Children with Cancer UK.

Charlotte is also set to run the London Marathon next year, when she hopes to raise even more money for the cause.

She said: “My beautiful 5 year old boy, Theodore, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, when he was only 4 years old.

“When Theo was diagnosed, he was only in hospital for a few days and everything happened so fast he had to go to intensive care - 94% of his blood was riddled with cancer.

“The treatment plan is a gruelling two years of chemo everyday and many other drugs alongside it with a list of life-changing side effects.

“It is constant weekly bloods, many blood transfusions, multiple lumbar punctures where they inject chemo in his back, hospital appointments, and overnight stays. It really never ends.”

Charlotte is set to run the London Marathon next year supporting the charity Children with Cancer UK, and had initially set herself a target of raising £10,000. Having already reached this milestone, the family has now upped the target to £12,000.

Her mum Kirsty said: “We have secured a table at the Hordle Christmas Fair on the 1st December in aid of Children Cancer UK, we are holding a mini raffle.”

Stainless steel sculptor Michael Turner has also donated a stunning seahorse sculpture to auction which will go under the hammer at Lymington Auctions’ Christmas event on 6th December. To support Charlotte’s fundraising challenge visit https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/charlotte-smith