Coventry Sphinx are proud to announce that they will be supporting Bethany's Wish over the 2014-15 season.
After much deliberation Bethany's Wish was selected as the charity to support over the forthcoming season.
Sphinx received the following email from Amanda Farren
I'm not sure whether you've managed to find a chatty just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce Bethany's Wish as a potential charity to support.
Bethany's Wish is a local charity who support children in Coventry & Warwickshire who are diagnosed with childhood cancer. Every single child who is newly diagnosed received a 'B's Bravery Bear Pack' from Bethany's Wish which not only includes lots of fun things for the kids, but also a number of essentials they'll need throughout their treatment. I was lucky enough to deliver a pack last week to a beautiful little 3.5 year old girl who is battling Leukaemia. Her face lit up instantly, and she announced that she was getting this pack because she was so brave - which is exactly the point. I then spent an hour with her going through all the goodies (they're HUGE!) whilst one of the Bethany's Wish volunteers spent time talking through things with her mum. To see the support offered in real life was amazing. They also fund support groups, days out for families and other initiatives to help children and their families to smile through their diagnosis and treatment.
Alongside this, the charity aims to help fund research into childhood cancers and in particular Wilms Tumour - which is a rare cancer affecting the kidneys. This is the type of cancer which Bethany Polanco was diagnosed with when she was 4 years old. After a brave battle, unfortunately Bethany lost her fight back in October 2012 - and it was in her memory that Bethany's Wish was formed.
The charity is run solely by volunteers - mainly by Bethany' s mum (and charity chair) Angela who not only tackles all of the daily tasks for the charity, but holds down a full time job and cares for her 4 year old son too. To have support from your club would no doubt be hugely beneficial to Angela, Bethany's Wish and to the children who the charity support. Every single penny that is raised for Bethany's Wish goes straight to the kids that they're aiming to help and support. It's not used to pay staff, or cover thousands of pounds of admin necessities - and that's what I LOVE about this charity!
And it doesn't get much more local! The charity is registered in Binley and Bethany attended both Ernesford Grange and Pattisons College - obviously both of which are just around the corner from Sphinx Drive! So if you were keen to support someone local - then Bethany's Wish would be ideal.
For further information - including Bethany's heart wrenching story - visit the website www.bethanyswish.co.uk and there should be plenty of information there.
If you had any questions, or wished to discuss anything further, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. It would be AMAZING to work with you and the Sphinx over the coming year.
Thanks for listening to me waffle on - I'll leave you in peace now! ;)
It was this email that touched a lot of the committee and junior managers hearts and led the majority of people to vote for Bethanys Wish.