CHILDREN suffering from cancer and leukaemia in East Anglia will have access to the best possible nursing support - thanks to EADT readers who have raised a staggering £50,000.

By Danielle Nuttall

CHILDREN suffering from cancer and leukaemia in East Anglia will have access to the best possible nursing support - thanks to EADT readers who have raised a staggering £50,000.

Less than nine months after the EADT launched the CLIC into Action appeal - to fund a children's cancer nurse and play specialist in East Anglia for a year- the target has been met.

Last night, CLIC campaigners and fundraisers said they were amazed at the determination and generosity shown by the community.

Although the campaign total has now been achieved, the appeal will stay open until the end of the year and we are hoping for more donations to take the final total even higher.

Michelle Gray, area fundraising manager for Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood (CLIC), said: “This is an absolutely remarkable achievement, especially given the short period of time in which the target has been reached.

“Every year in East Anglia there are approximately 100 families given the devastating news that their child has cancer or leukaemia. From that moment on their lives will never be the same again.

“But the fantastic and very generous support CLIC has received from the readers of the East Anglian Daily Times means that we can continue to help families cope with what is an extremely difficult and emotional time and ensure that those children in our region living with these diseases have access to the best possible care, treatment and support.

“My sincere thanks, on behalf of everyone at CLIC, go to all those people who have helped us reach our target and also to everyone who has promised their continued support.”

EADT deputy editor Dominic Castle said: “When we launched the appeal we knew that our readers would back it to the hilt - but what has stunned us is the speed with which we have hit the target.

“We have also been overwhelmed by the hundreds of gestures of support the appeal has received, from the people who have sent in their own money, money they collected for their birthdays, money they raised in dozens of different ways. We've also had fantastic support from businesses like BT, who helped raise £10,000 for the appeal.

“Now we'd like to keep going and see how much we can collect by the end of the year, as we know CLIC will make great use of every penny they get.”

CLIC into Action was launched in February to raise £50,000 to pay for a children's cancer nurse and play specialist for East Anglia.

Just weeks into the campaign, the total stood at several thousand pounds, with organisations and EADT readers holding fundraising events across the region.

Among those charity events were balls, special auctions, cycle rides, golf days, bowls tournaments and a teddy bear parachute jump.

Even Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell threw his weight behind the campaign by signing photographs and personal effects to be auctioned.