We wanted to provide a quick update on progress within Hannah’s Charity.

#inspiredByHannah

Our levels of activity with both our core activities, namely granting Willberry’s Wishes and funding scientific research, have increased over the past couple of years, with over 95 Wishes now granted and the number of projects funded by us shortly reaching double figures.  This is all really positive news, but it continues to take a huge effort from all our volunteers and  our Trustees.

With this in mind, we want to share some really positive news.  Hannah’s chose the Trustees she wanted to lead her charity and these all remain today, including Hannah’s parents (Rachel and James) and her grandma (June), together with Ian Peters and Miles Toulson-Clarke.  However, the increased activity referenced above means that we now feel is the time to broaden our Trustee group, not simply to create more resource but specifically to add critical skills we feel the Charity would benefit from.  We’re pleased to confirm the following Trustee appointments:

Dr Alice Goring  Alice was a close friend of Hannah and also helped her find her miniature Shetland, Doris!  Alice is a senior molecular scientist and completed her PhD at Southampton University.  Whilst studying there, she introduced us to her supervisor, Dr laire Clarkin, who has been the Chair of our Scientific Panel for the past few years.  In her capacity as Trustee, Alice will provide vital knowledge of the scientific community and will help guide us with our research activities.

Matt Clark  Matt is Operations Director of Old Mill, an accountancy and financial advisory practice.  Matt is also a survivor of osteosarcoma, which he was diagnosed with at 18 years of age, and told us about his remarkable journey of recovery when we first met him.  Matt then set himself the hugely onerous task of cycling over 1,000 miles to all the major eventing venues with his Travelling Willberrys, raising not just a remarkable amount of money for the Charity (over £14,000) but also increasing awareness of this hideous disease.  Matt will contribute not only his business experience to the Charity but, crucially, a patient perspective to add to all of Hannah’s extraordinarily powerful testimony that drives us each and every day.

In addition to these Trustee appointments, we’re overjoyed to let you know that Rachel, Hannah's mum, is now planning to dedicate her time to the running of the Charity and is assuming the role of General Manager.  Rachel is the heartbeat of the Charity, co-ordinating all aspects of what we do in Hannah’s memory and will now be able to dedicate even more energy to driving us all forwards!  We simply can’t think of a worthier person to do this and know that Hannah will be smiling.

Thank you for your continued support, we are so grateful.  We feel extremely proud of Hannah's charity and know that she would be thrilled that we continue to help so many people and and continuing her legacy in #kickingcancersbutt

Best wishes from us all x