Ex-Oz Kid Launches Nottingham’s Lite the Nite
By admin
Issued on behalf of The Joshua Foundation
A CHARITY walk in memory of family and friends who have lost the fight against cancer will be taking to the streets of Nottingham later this year – to help bring a smile to the faces of children with the disease.
The Joshua Foundation Lite the Nite walk will raise money to give children with cancer and their families unforgettable holidays and experiences they can enjoy and share together.
Set up by Sarah Cornelius, who lost her seven-year-old son Joshua to cancer in 1998, similar family fundraising events have already been staged in Cardiff, Swansea and Kenilworth – and now Nottingham.
As part of Nottingham’s Lite the Nite event on Sunday, November 18, fundraisers will take part in a five-kilometre stroll around Nottingham Castle and the surrounding Museum Quarter area.
Starting and ending at Britain’s oldest pub, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, families and fundraisers will be hoping to help raise thousands of pounds for the charity.
As part of its unique approach, Lite the Nite supporters carry special illuminated balloons – red for those who have had, or known someone with cancer or silver for supporters of the charity’s work.
The idea for Lite the Nite came from Joshua’s love of balloons. Sarah, who is originally from Nottingham but now lives in Cardiff, said: “The event has huge significance and is linked to Joshua in every way. He would always get a balloon wherever we went in the world, and loved letting them go and watching them float away.
“The whole idea of this event is that everyone in the family can get involved, a chance to get out with the family in the fresh air at an event that aims to entertain before, during and after the walk.”
As well as raising funds through events such as Lite the Nite, The Joshua Foundation enlists the help of its Oz Kids to raise the money to support children and families with cancer. In return for raising sponsorship, school students across the UK get the chance to take their very own trip of a lifetime to Australia, while also having the opportunity to change the lives of children with terminal cancer.
Nobody knows the hard work it takes to be an Oz Kid better than former Oz Kid and now Midland’s Lite the Nite co-ordinator Ben Price. Classically-trained singer Ben, from Mansfield, who has performed with Welsh National Opera and trained at the Royal Academy of Music, travelled to Australia as an Oz Kid in 2006 and then returned as a team-leader this summer.
Ben heard about the Oz Experience when studying for his A-levels at Brunts School in Mansfield. He said: “The Joshua Foundation Oz team came to visit us and straight away I knew that it was something that I wanted to be involved in.
“I can vividly remember the experience I had as an Oz Kid. Not only do you visit the most amazing places in Australia and become involved in great experiences while you are there, but the best feeling is knowing that the money you have raised to gain a place as an Oz Kid will go towards giving terminally-ill children holidays they thought were only possible in their dreams.
“When I returned from Australia I was so excited by what I had encountered I wanted to do more for the Joshua Foundation. In my role as co-ordinator for Lite the Nite in Nottingham, I can directly help next year’s Oz Kids to fundraise and prepare for their time in Australia – while also creating awareness among people in Nottingham about the charity.”
Since 1998, The Joshua Foundation has raised more than £3million and helped hundreds of families, with everything from holidays in Tenby, sightseeing tours in London and trips to Lapland.
To register for Lite the Nite Nottingham call 02920 757020 or register online at www.thejoshuafoundation.co.uk. Registration is £5 for adults, with children under eleven taking part free of charge.
