Bus drivers and colleagues from trentbarton have chosen the Teenage Cancer Trust as their charity of the year for both 2020 and 2021.
The charity, which helps young people across trentbartonland and the rest of the UK, will benefit from two years of fundraising events and challenges by trentbarton staff.
Teenage Cancer Trust funds units at Nottingham City Hospital and Nottingham Children’s Hospital at QMC plus dedicated space for teenagers and young adults at Royal Derby Hospital and King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-In-Ashfield.
Teenage Cancer Trust funds nurses and youth support coordinators to provide social and emotional support to young people aged 13 to 24 during and after treatment, plus organise activities and peer support events. Each year around 130 young people aged 13 to 24 are diagnosed with cancer in the East Midlands.
One young man helped by Teenage Cancer Trust is Jacob Holt from Derby. Jacob, now 20, was 18 when he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma of the prostate, a rare form of cancer for somebody his age.
Before being diagnosed, Jacob was caring for his disabled brother during his gap year and had also received an unconditional offer to study at the University of Edinburgh.
Jacob, who was treated on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at QMC and is now at university, said: “My Teenage Cancer Trust nurse and Youth Support Coordinator, or the ‘pizza lady’ as we liked to call her, were always there when we needed them, even just for a chat.
“I’m delighted trentbarton is fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust. I relied on trentbarton buses for many years and often used them to travel to and from hospital when I had consultations or treatment.
“I have a ‘guarded diagnosis’ which means that there are limited chances of full recovery, but my consultant tells me he’s optimistic about the chance of a full cure.”
Teenage Cancer Trust relationships manager Yvonne Mackintosh said: “We’re so grateful to the wonderful trentbarton team for their support, and we look forward to working together to achieve amazing things for young people with cancer over the next two years.
“Every day in the UK, seven 13-24 year olds will hear the words ‘you have cancer’. Every pound raised by trentbarton will help us get closer than ever to our goal of being there for every young person diagnosed with cancer.”
trentbarton charity champion Caroline Bacon-Webster said: “Having met Yvonne and heard what Teenage Cancer Trust does for young people across our community, it’s great that our team have chosen to raise money for the charity.
“Our charity champions at each depot are already busy planning bake sales, raffles, sports fixtures and much more. We’ll also be looking at Teenage Cancer Trust fundraising events to see where we can get involved. We’re all looking forward to a busy and productive time in support of this great charity and its local impact”