Ben Pavitt's charitable legacy grows with achievement of £50k milestone

At a time of unfathomable anxiousness around the world, it is a joy to be able to post some good news for a change. I am delighted to announce the total of charitable fundraising now raised in the name of my son, Ben Pavitt, since his diagnosis with a form of childhood cancer in 2020 and his death last October has now passed the £50,000 mark. I first announced this total to audiences at two music concerts hosted by local jazz and swing band the Doodle Cats this past weekend in support of Ben Pavitt's Legacy of Love Fund (pictured). Achieving such a milestone naturally reminds us that - just as we cling to hope for those in Ukraine at this appalling time - a little bit of love can extend a very long way.

The total raised to date is comprised of the following fundraising efforts instigated by Ben himself, my law firm Paris Smith LLP, family, friends and our wider community:-

1. Ben's JustGiving campaign for Paediatric ICU at Southampton General Hospital (2020), now closed: £5,367;
2. Paris Smith's JustGiving campaign for Piam Brown children's oncology ward at Southampton General Hospital (2021 to date), prompted by our nomination of this charity as Paris Smith's chosen partner charity in 2021, still open for donations but currently standing at: £5,015;
3. Pavitt Family Facebook challenges (push up and squat challenges (Nov 2021 - Feb 2022) for Teenage Cancer Trust, Feb challenge still open for donations but currently standing at: £19,198; and
4. Ben Pavitt's Legacy of Love Fund, a special named fund of the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group, set up in advance of Ben's funeral in November, currently standing at £22,779.

As at 1 March 2022, the total funds raised for these causes, all inspired by Ben's diagnosis, attentive treatment and his dying wishes to raise funds and awareness, stood at an incredible £52,359. We are staggered by everyone's generosity to date, and spurred to push on for our original fundraising target of £100,000 - if possible by the end of 2022!

Our aim now is to concentrate all of our fundraising towards Ben Pavitt's Legacy of Love Fund as we believe CCLG represents the very best chance families of the future have of being spared the appalling consequences of losing a child or teenager to cancer, and of course the world of retaining the potential of these shining stars of their generation.

Cancer in children is not, as many suppose, at all a rare event (WHO figures suggest there are 400,000 cases per year) and it remains very much a leading killer by disease amongst individuals aged 0-19. It is also an almost completely random event which can therefore strike anywhere, and children who survive cancer often face other health issues in their adult lives due to the severity of the treatments currently available, but they are so often also spurred on to achieve great things. Perhaps one of them will be the one to discover a kinder form of chemotherapy compared to the ancient drugs (most approved between 1953 and 1978) we continue to use in hospitals today and/or some other form of treatment which ensures that 2 out of 10 children diagnosed with childhood cancer in the UK (and 7 out of 10 in the developing world) do not die needlessly.

Improvements in childhood cancer survival rates over the 45 years during which CCLG has been operating have demonstrated conclusively that with the coordination of properly funded research - which it seems governments around the world are incapable of providing themselves - and the sharing of best practice and information we can eventually eradicate childhood cancer deaths altogether. Since 2016, CCLG have funded 94 research projects, of which 19 have been funded thanks to special named funds like Ben's. Now, if that's not a cause worth getting behind...

We all recognise, of course, that the pandemic has impacted all charities, and that the strain on our individual budgets is being felt for a host of reasons, but if there is anything you or your company are willing and able to do to help us take Ben's fundraising on to the next level, I should be delighted to hear from you! We do already have a large number of pans in the fire, from the sale of branded wristbands and pin badges (limited number of collection boxes now available to place in businesses), to branded clothing and other merchandising in due course, people running all sorts of races for us, a youth football team planning various fundraising activities, church bake sales, two theatrical companies (SOS Presents and RAODS) partnering with us for forthcoming productions, a gala dinner being planned, more concerts, even a friend being sponsored to cut off his amazingly long 'lockdown hair' (and then donating it to the Little Princess Trust). All of these things are how we will achieve our fundraising targets, so if you like to get in on the act, do please let me know.

For now, though, I shall sign off and wish you all a productive and uplifting day.