Mum appeals for help on brave Reece's 19th birthday to save his cancer charity

Friday, 13 December 2024 09:14

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

The mum of a teenager who founded a cancer charity has appealed for help to keep it going in her son's memory - on what would have been his 19th birthday.

Reece Holt and his mum Rachel Macfarlane set up Team Reece, which has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to help children who have cancer and their families.

Reece, a pupil at Lancaster Royal Grammar School from Overton, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour in 2016.

He wanted the charity to help people who were also affected by cancer, and to buy a holiday home for children and their families in the same situation as his.

After a courageous battle, he died aged 13 on January 18 2019.

Today, December 13, would have been Reece's 19th birthday.

Rachel posted on the Team Reece Facebook page today, appealing for more help with fundraising to keep the charity going after a tough year.

Reece and Rachel are pictured below during his treatment.

"This year I have found myself trying to imagine what he would have looked like as a young adult," she said.

"Wondering if he would have been as tall as his brother.

"What would his voice have sounded like after it broke.

"This past 12 months have been tough, Reece’s friends have sat A levels, gone to university and some have begun apprenticeships and work and while I’m extremely proud to see them growing and thriving I can’t help but wonder what Reece would have been doing now.

"As a charity we may have been quieter on social media but we have been been busy in the background and inundated with requests for support and we have continued to help as many children and families as we can.

"However we now find ourselves at a crossroads, the cost of running Reece’s Retreat and supporting families has increased dramatically over the last couple of years and at this point we don’t know if we will be able to keep going with it.

"The last thing we want to do is close, when more and more children year on year are being diagnosed with cancer.

"Can you help us with fundraising?

"From holding bake sales and coffee mornings to climbing mountains and running marathons, we need you now more than ever.

"This year we have supported over 45 families facing childhood cancer from holidays, to gifts and educational supplies and support and we have had more requests than we can cope with.

"We want to help all of them but we need your help to continue."

Here is Reece pictured during a visit to the Beyond Radio studio.