Laura Brown

Laura & Andrew's Page

Fundraising for Young Lives vs Cancer
£4,541
raised of £2,000 target
by 58 supporters
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
In memory of Andrew Brown
Young Lives vs Cancer

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We help families find the strength to face everything cancer throws at them

Story

Hi! My name is Laura and I'm climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in memory of my big brother Andrew, who passed away last year.

My big brother was a kind, quiet and gentle soul. He was an avid gamer, Formula 1 enthusiast and Leicester City Football Club fan. Andrew was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive brain tumour (a ganglioglioma) at the beginning of 2013, and fought it bravely until he finally couldn't fight it any more. He passed away in September 2014, aged 26, surrounded by people who loved and adored him.

Andrew was passionate about the charity CLIC Sargent, which cares for young people with cancer. The charity helped him in many ways: they granted his wish to go see the Grand Prix at Silverstone; and also gave him the gift of an iPad, which he became inseparable from until he could no longer use it. These treats helped lift Andrew's spirits in a truly terrible time: he adored the F1 and during his treatment, when he was housebound, the iPad kept him entertained and connected to the outside world.

But not only was Andrew passionate about CLIC Sargent for the way it helped him, but more so because he felt a great sadness when - on his trips to hospital - he would see patients much younger than him going through the terrible difficulty of trying to beat cancer too. Andrew donated to CLIC Sargent regularly, and I feel that it is my responsibility to continue his support of such an important cause.

So here I go! This September I will be climbing Africa's highest mountain: Mount Kilimanjaro. I intend to raise some serious money and awareness for CLIC Sargent and the young people who are now - or who will be one day - in the same position as my brother: fighting a huge and terrifying cancer diagnosis. For some young people there is no cure, for others it is a long and exhausting battle - granting them a wish, giving them something to look forward to and enjoy during their treatment and illness can make such a difference.

I want to make my brother proud. I want to spread his story and perhaps inspire others with his phenomenal courage. He faced something of a difficulty that words cannot do justice for. This, in comparison, is nothing.

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You may have already heard of Andrew on the internet! His funeral flowers went viral last year: I posted a photo of them on Reddit/Imgur which received over 2 million views, and for a while Andrew was an internet celebrity! Hopefully he would have found that pretty cool! (The Imgur post: http://bit.ly/1ymAXJs; the Reddit post: http://bit.ly/1xu0Fbh

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I have never done anything like this before so I am very nervous! If you would like to help me, any donation or your help spreading my story would be so appreciated! Thank you :)

About the charity

Young Lives vs Cancer

Verified by JustGiving

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At Young Lives vs Cancer, we help families find the strength to face whatever cancer throws at them. But every day 12 more children and young people hear the devastating news they have cancer. We’ll face it all together – but we can’t do it without you. Visit www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk

Donation summary

Total raised
£4,540.02
+ £780.79 Gift Aid
Online donations
£3,650.52
Offline donations
£889.50

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