The aim of Josies Dragonfly is to brighten the lives of children & young people living with cancer; we do this in two ways

1. By providing a single Cash Gift of £500 to a child or young person  where treatment is no longer considered curative. The money is for the child or young person to spend as they wish.

Josie was given money from well wishers in her last months. Having her own money gave her a sense of independence and enabled her to buy special parting gifts for her family as well as to buy a few things that she wanted without feeling guilty having to ask us. The aim of the Cash Gift is to bring some happiness to the child or young person during their final days which, in turn, will leave lasting memories for family & friends.The application is made through the Macmillan Nurse or Clic Sargent social worker looking after the child. This enables us to get the cheque to the child within a couple of days as every day counts for these families.

2. By providing crafts and activities for children on cancer wards.

Josie also got a real buzz from purchasing activities and crafts for children and teenagers at the RVI in Newcastle where she was treated. She knew that having something to do could mean the difference between a good day in hospital or an unbearable day. We give a large parcel weighing about 15kg full of activities and crafts to all of the Childrens Cancer Specialist Hospitals across the UK two or three times a year.

Where can you make a difference?

We would like to have Josies Dragonfly Cash Gift available in all the childrens cancer specialist hospitals and Teenage Units, but due to limited funds and sadly the large number of children who qualify for this special gift, we can only afford to introduce a few more hospitals each year.

We currently offer the Cash Gift through the following hospitals and usually get over 10 requests a month.

• The Royal Victoria Hospital, Newcastle
• The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
• St.James University Hospital, Leeds
• Sheffield Children's Hospital
• Sheffield Teenage Cancer Unit
• Birmingham Childrens Hospital
• Teenage Unit Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
• Leicester Royal Infirmary
• University College Hospital London
• Great Ormond St. London
• John Radcliff Oxford
• Addenbrookes Cambridge
• Southampton
• Alder Hey Liverpool
• Nottingham Childrens Hospital

To make Josie's Dragonfly Cash Gift available in all of the Children Cancer Specialist Hospitals & Young Peoples Units as well as providing the Art & Craft Boxes we need to raise over £20,000 per month. We cannot do this by selling Dragonfly gifts alone and so we rely heavily on Donations to meet this target.

Please give generously and thank you for your support!