Ben’s Epic Christmas Boxes 2022 – Season 4 – Return of the Lego!

Ben’s Epic Journey

Ben’s Epic Christmas Boxes 2022 – Season 4 - Return of the Lego!

Building on the success of our three previous Ben's Epic Christmas Boxes Campaigns, we are at it again!

This year as a stretch goal, in addition to the Christmas Boxes, we are hoping to add Parent Boxes, Ward Boxes (for the staff working on the wards) and small Sibling Boxes, too (subject to funds raised).

We are aware that the cost of living challenges might make this Christmas difficult for lots of people, but we really want to help those children and families facing an unexpected difficult diagnosis of cancer and those supporting them.

And yes, I am walking The South Downs Way again because my feet loved it so much last year!

We really hope to keep doing this year on year because we are planning to become an official charity in the not too distant future!

Please read our story below ...

14 September 2022

Lovely people,

Our beautiful son, Ben, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) and Lyme disease in June 2018. He subsequently underwent chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant from an Angel unrelated donor in October of that year. Ben sadly relapsed in July 2019 and died in my arms at home on Saturday 10^th August 2019.

Ben grew so much in such a short space of time; both in knowledge, age, as well as in heart and wisdom. He never wanted any association with cancer and certainly didn’t want to be defined by it. In his last few days, he humbly told me he would give up his life if other children could be healthy. In my heart, as his mum, I felt very much that he was handing the baton to me to continue a legacy of kindness for the children and families affected by childhood cancer.

We started this amazing annual campaign in 2019 and were able to create beautiful Christmas gift boxes for the children on the three wards Ben was treated in. Over the last couple of years, with the pandemic, we had to adapt our approach, providing gift vouchers in 2020 and Lego in 2021 to the children staying on the same wards.

As restrictions are still in place, this year, we are seeing the Return of the Lego! Lego was hugely popular last year and is pretty universal in its appeal. The boxes can be easily wiped down to ensure safety; and for the very youngest babies, we will again offer a gift voucher for the families to select something special personally.

As part of our fundraising for Ben's Epic Christmas Boxes this year, I am once again walking The South Downs Way, which is 100 miles (or a lot longer if you wander off the trail as I did last year!)

I'll be setting off from Winchester early on Friday 16 September, a day ahead of World Marrow Donor Day, with different friends and family joining me along the route, striding through the landscape all the way to Eastbourne, arriving late afternoon on Friday 23 September! I will of course be providing regular updates here when signal permits!

We would again like to make Christmas in hospital for these children a little easier; and we would like to start the ball rolling with this fundraiser to see what miracles may come. We'd love your support!

The Hospitals are:

Starfish Ward, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth

Piam Brown Ward, Southampton Hospital

Starlight Ward, Bristol

The three wards accommodate approximately 65 – 70 children.

We have raised our funding target higher this year, in the hope of adding parent boxes, ward boxes and small sibling boxes of Lego.

We are currently working on plans to set up Ben’s Epic Journey as a charity in the coming months with Ben's Epic Christmas Boxes happening year on year. We have lots of ideas for the future, but this is something really special we hope to develop in Ben's name with your wonderful support! We are currently looking at the paperwork and setting up the correct structure, so once we’re registered, we will let you know! In the meantime, we are unable to claim gift aid for this fundraiser.

You can find out more about Ben’s story via his blog here at: www.bensepicjourney.org

You can also contact us here at: [email protected]

Please note:

All donations are non-refundable, but will be used for good as part of our lovely boy’s legacy of kindness to others.