An amazing and resilient young man who has raised £700 for Thomas’s Fund, Alfe was diagnosed at the age of five with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in his abdomen. After eight months of chemotherapy he went into remission. During his treatment a Thomas’s Fund therapist visited Alfe once a week at home and this visit really helped Alfe to deal with his feelings and have some control in his life by banging a cymbal or making up songs. Alfe wanted to help other children who were going through a similar experience to his own and after spending Christmas 2009 in hospital due to complications, he decided to design and sell Christmas cards to raise money to buy gifts for children who would be spending Christmas in hospital. After the success of the cards Alfe had lots more fundraising ideas and so his family – mum Karen, dad Darren and sister Sophie – set up Alfe’s Cause to raise funds for Northamptonshire children’s charities that had supported Alfe during his illness. During 2011 they raised money by holding a children’s disco, volunteering at Hollowell Steam Rally and hosting a Gala show. For 2012 they are focusing on a ‘Celebrating Siblings’ project where children and their brothers and sisters can come together and share creative experiences with the aim to decrease social isolation that is associated with childhood illness/disability.
