WIRRAL BOY WITH RARE FORM OF CANCER THRILLED BY DREAM LAPLAND EXPERIENCE THANKS TO THE POUNDLAND FOUNDATION , POUNDLAND SHOPPERS AND MAKE-A-WISH ® UK
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WIRRAL BOY WITH RARE FORM OF CANCER THRILLED BY DREAM LAPLAND EXPERIENCE THANKS TO THE POUNDLAND FOUNDATION , POUNDLAND SHOPPERS AND MAKE-A-WISH ® UK
A young boy suffering from a rare form of cancer has enjoyed a dream trip to Lapland thanks to the Poundland Foundation and the kindness of Poundland shoppers .
William McElroy , aged 10 , was among 45 families who flew to Santa ’ s home between Wednesday 27th December and Saturday 30th December 2023 .
The £ 162,000 needed for the trip was raised through the Poundland Foundation , working with national charity Make-A- Wish ® UK .
His delighted mum , Sarah , from Wirral , said : “ The wish was just out of this world ! It was a once in a lifetime experience .
“ To think that on 28th December we were in a sleigh being pulled by reindeer and four years ago we were awaiting a life-saving liver transplant in Birmingham children ' s hospital just blew my mind .
“ Thank you to the Poundland Foundation and Make-A-Wish from the bottom of my heart ."
William lives with hepatoblastoma , a rare form of liver cancer . Taken away from childhood activities , he has spent a lot of time in hospital , undergoing months of operations .
Sarah said : “ Myself and other oncology mums often say to each other that people don ' t understand the domino effect of a child with cancer . The ripple it has on your relationship with your other children and partner .
“ I ' m so beyond grateful my child is well but it ' s not an easy ride and he will have challenges for the rest of his life .
“ A lot of the time we thought that he wasn ’ t going to make it . But going to Lapland , a trip that William has always wanted to do , has taken some of the stress away from his and his family ’ s lives .
“ He couldn ’ t wait to see all the snow and huskies ! Having a break from all the worry was amazing for me as his mum and spending that time together as a family was unimaginable . We ’ re so thankful !"
The trip was made possible thanks to shoppers supporting good causes through Poundland ’ s Pennies scheme , where they make digital donations at till points in all Poundland stores .
This is the first example of the Poundland Foundation choosing to fund this kind of project .
It takes just under seven hours of micro-donations made by Poundland shoppers to fund one family to go to Lapland . The Poundland Foundation works to make futures brighter across the UK through its national and local grant programmes . For more details about the Poundland Foundation please visit : https :// poundlandfoundation . org . uk /
16 wirrallife . com