The Children with Cancer Fund at Polegate has been presented with a £15,000 cheque from Wealden Crematorium.
The money was donated to the charity’s co-founder Chris Downton after staff at the Horam facility nominated CWCF to receive a share of funds raised through the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management’s recycling metal scheme.
The crematorium is part of the scheme, which sees recycling of metals following a cremation of a deceased person – done with the written consent of each bereaved family. The metals are recycled by the ICCM with proceeds shared between its members to donate to their chosen charity.
The Children with Cancer Fund aims to grant wishes to children under 18 and their families. Wishes can be practical, medical or fun, and support the individual and family in the way that they choose.
After a humble start in 1998, with a team of only four, CWCF now supports more than 130 families and was awarded a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services – the equivalent of an MBE for charities. The charity focuses on ensuring that the day to day life of children and their families is improved, for example replacing school uniforms or enabling the right environment for some quality family time.
Shaun Peters, Wealden Crematorium manager, said, “This year we chose Children with Cancer Fund in Polegate because we know what wonderful work it carries out supporting whole families. It’s sometimes the little things like arranging parking permits or lunch money that really help. We are very happy to support this great local charity.”
Chris Downton said, “We are so grateful to the Crematorium staff for choosing us to receive this amazing donation and know that from a sad situation will come lasting memories and events that our cancer families will always remember.”
