BELFAST solicitor Kevin McVeigh is one of many people going the extra mile to support the valuable work of Cancer Fund for Children. This April he will be running the London Marathon to raise funds for the charity, which provides practical, emotional and financial support children and young people aged 0-24 affected by cancer.
As a trustee of the charity since 2014, Kevin has witnessed at first hand the support being provided to families, and is delighted "doing his bit" by running the 26 mile course in London.
"Having a sick child can put families under financial and emotional pressure," he says. "Mums often have to give up their job to care for the child and travel to Belfast for treatment or hospital visits, splitting the family unit. Daisy Lodge, the charity’s therapeutic short-break centre near Newcastle, can literally be the first time in months a family sit together for a meal.
"There is always a happy atmosphere at Daisy Lodge and the staff are very positive and upbeat."
The father of four, who has been battling the elements this winter while training for the event, adds: "The charity's Young Shoulders Programme, which supports children whose parents has been diagnosed with cancer, is also invaluable."
His overriding highlight as a trustee with Cancer Fund for Children was the opening of Daisy Lodge in 2014, where the special guest was golfer Rory McIlroy, whose foundation had made a generous donation to the charity.
"I was talking to a family whose son is living with cancer and they showed me a drawing made that day by their daughter. She had placed two large daisy stickers over part of her picture and, when asked why, she said a man had spoiled the picture by writing on it but she had fixed it with the stickers. When they removed the stickers, they saw that the man was Rory and he had signed her picture," he laughs.
:: You can support Kevin's London Marathon fundraising campaign at Justgiving.com/fundraising/kevin-mcveigh2
