Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust receives £450,000 award from People's Postcode Lottery
by Ashton Howard 19 Mar 2021 21:49 AEDT
Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust sailing trip in 2019 © Martin Allen Photography
Every young person living through and beyond cancer will be able to benefit from the support of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in 2021, thanks to a new £450,000 award from People's Postcode Lottery.
Players of People's Postcode Lottery have supported the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust since 2010, positively impacting the lives of thousands of young people aged 8-24 and inspiring them to believe in a brighter future after cancer treatment through sailing and other UK-wide outdoor activities.
Through the pandemic, the Trust pivoted its support to a virtual programme to be there for young people when they needed them more than ever.
The unrestricted funding from People's Postcode Lottery is now enabling the charity to lay out its roadmap for 2021 and to plan along a spectrum of possibilities of the ways they might be able to support young people in person.
Significant work has already been completed, and continues, on planning different scenarios, with running sailing and/or outdoor activity trips as normal at one end to virtual support at the other. Along that spectrum are several possibilities, including socially distanced sailing and running regional day activities, where the Trust goes to young people throughout the UK.
Dame Ellen MacArthur, the Trust's Founder and Patron, said: "Thank you so much to People's Postcode Lottery, you've supported us amazingly over the years.
"We didn't get out on the water last year, but we found some innovative ways to continue working with young people and bring the magic, the togetherness, the positivity, the fun and the hope back into their lives virtually. Whatever happens this year, thanks to the ongoing support from players, we will be there for every young person that needs us."
The new funding award will enable the Trust to make sure that young people who are living through and beyond cancer can access the support, reignite the friendships, build the confidence and rediscover the independence to thrive in the post-pandemic world.
Ellen added: "This year in particular the unrestricted funding will be absolutely crucial to enable us to do what we do best, which is to support young people who are living through and beyond cancer."
Thanks to the support from players, the Trust will be ready to roll out the right plan at the right time in the right place and continue providing the supplementary virtual support young people have come to expect from the charity over the past 12 months.
You can help positively impact the lives of more young people by signing up to play People's Postcode Lottery or visiting www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org.