Taylor Wimpey helps put a smile on the faces of children diagnosed with cancer

Maddi’s Butterflies has collaborated with Young Lives vs Cancer to help put a smile back on the faces of children who are suffering pain and discomfort while receiving cancer treatment at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. They do so by granting them a wish, giving gifts, arranging a day trip or short holiday for the child and their family, or even transforming their bedroom or play area.

One of the Maddi’s Butterflies’ gifts include Smile Bags, reusable bags filled with toys, games, children’s books, stationery and colouring pens, arts and crafts, fluffy bed socks and sleep masks. The bags are there to treat the children with cancer and also alleviate some of the financial burden on their families.

Each Smile Bag costs between £150 to £200 to put together. Taylor Wimpey’s £1,000 donation will be enough to cover the cost of up to 10 Smile Bags.

Samantha Allan, Founder and Charity Manager of Maddi’s Butterflies, said: “A donation like this means so much to us at Maddi’s Butterflies and we’re so grateful to have received it. We send a heartfelt thank you to Taylor Wimpey for its support.

“We are a small team and work really hard with Young Lives vs Cancer, Macmillan and the parents of children with cancer to support the children who are referred to us. Our Smile Bags are made to bring joy to children who may feel like they have little to smile about and also let them know that we’re thinking of them as they face the fight of their lives.”

Sam Evans, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey Manchester, said: “We are proud to support the work that Maddi’s Butterflies does to make a difference to children and their families facing cancer. It’s a pleasure to contribute to bringing smiles to the faces of children receiving cancer treatment at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and we hope the children who receive these Smile Bags as a result of our donation enjoy their goodies and that it helps to bring them a little normality during such a difficult time.”

Maddi’s Butterflies was founded in 2012 in memory of Madison Allan, who passed away from Neuroblastoma on Boxing Day 2011, aged just seven-years-old after battling the disease since she was 10-months-old.

Neuroblastoma is an aggressive childhood cancer of the nervous system which often goes undetected due to its lack of symptoms until a tumour grows large enough to affect vital organs, nerves or pathways. The disease affects 100 children in the UK every year, with 75 of these children being stage four. Neuroblastoma has a high relapse rate, with the only treatment option for this being in America and costing £500,000.

To find out more about Maddi’s Butterflies, please visit https://www.maddisbutterflies.org.uk/.

To find out more about the homes available from Taylor Wimpey, please visit https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/.