We are organising a second ‘The Butterfly Ball’ in memory of our brave son Callum and to raise money for a wonderful local charity.     Callum was 4 years old when he died in December 2007.  Callum suffered with a rare chromosome disorder called Wolf Hirschhorn Syndrome. When he was born the doctors told us that he would need constant care.

During Callum’s short life, we needed respite care from a children’s hospice and were amazed to find there was no such facility in Berkshire. We did use a wonderful children’s hospice, but it was 40 minutes away in Middlesex.  We realised that too many local families struggle with long journeys to access hospice facilities, at a time when they have enough to deal with.

So we have again, decided to raise much needed funds for The Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust - which was set up in memory of another amazing and brave little boy, Alexander Devine, who sadly lost his fight with cancer.

We are supporting their simple aim: to raise enough money to build, fund and run the first children’s hospice in Berkshire, to support children with life-limiting conditions and their families. Since the last ball in November 2008, the charity has been gaining momentum and now has over £680,000 towards their target of £1,600,000. They have put in place their first ‘Alexander’s Nurse’ who is dedicated to providing care for terminally ill children in the area and is currently providing huge support for many local families. They also held a very special Christmas party last year for children with life limiting conditions, which was attended by over 30 families.

Please help us to support their on-going work in helping these families and the goal to build a dedicated children’s hospice.

The ‘Butterfly Ball’ will be an evening to remember, in a fantastic setting opposite Windsor Castle, with dinner, an auction and silent auction and dancing until the early hours. Please come along and have a fabulous evening while helping this very worthwhile cause. Contact details are dunnettfamily@btopenworld.com or 07793 724793.

Nicola & Matt Dunnett