Memories are made of this

Providing memorable experiences for seriously ill children has been the aim of the Barrie Wells Trust for almost 15 years. Ambassadeurs Group (AG) has been a dedicated supporter since 2016, donating to help children, and their families, through the charity’s Box4Kids initiative.

Box4Kids invites children and their families to enjoy sporting and entertainment events from the comfort of executive boxes. AG has donated boxes at Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Reading Football Club’s as well as tickets to see Disney on Ice, Cirque du Soleil and Monster Trucks at the O2.

The events make a remarkable difference to the children. Kamran, who was diagnosed with Ewing’s PNET when he was just 13 years old had just finished his seventh round of chemotherapy two days before he went to a recent Reading FC match. His mum said afterwards that he ‘loved the experience, everything from being in the box, and having so much space, to the meal’. And she added that the highlights were ‘being able to spend time with his friends who he doesn’t see much since treatment started and especially the fact that Reading won’.

Barrie Wells MBE, the financial services entrepreneur who set up the charity, had a clear aim when he it up. ‘I created the charity as I wanted to give the cash away in my own lifetime, so I could personally enjoy the giving and see the difference it makes.’

Making a difference through giving back is an aim that is shared by AG, which has donated 45 events to the charity since 2016. The Barrie Wells Trust overall has delivered over 1,200 events.

Each one of the events delivers special stories of courage and joy in equal measure. At a Reading football match in October, where the box was donated by AG, 11-year-old William watched with his mum, dad and little brother. William is unilaterally deaf – which means he has hearing loss in one ear – and had never been to a football match because of concerns about the noise in the stadium. But being in a box, with the opportunity to take time out transformed the experience. His mum said that the safe environment ‘made William’s weekend’.

Jake Willmott, 11, and his mum, dad and brother Harry also managed special family time together. This hadn’t been possible for many years after Jake’s mum had a stroke and cardiac arrest three years ago. ‘It has been very difficult for me to take Jake and Clare, along with Harry, out for a family day,’ says Jake’s dad. ‘But this afternoon was completely stress free.’

AG have plans for many more donations to help children and their families create memories in the run up to Christmas. The donations come as this year’s BBC Children in Need announced it has raised more than £35m, despite the national cost-of-living.