Tracey Payton
End of Treatment Bells
Fundraising for Maria Watt Birmingham Foundation for Childhood & Teenage Leukaemia
Story
Through the Maria Watt Foundation, we have now distributed 169 bells in the UK and have enquiries coming in all the time. As part of a UK registered charity we can send bells out to anywhere in the United Kingdom free of charge. However, we appreciate that some patients and their families are keen to sponsor one of our bells as a way of showing their appreciation for the treatment that they have received and we welcome this with open arms.
We have also donated a further 11 Bells in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Dubai
We are totally non-profit and rely on the kindness and goodwill of our supporters in funding more bells.
We are able to ship bells worldwide - please get in touch via our facebook page.
This is why we do what we do...
Our daughter Emma was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, in September 2013 when she was 8 years old. Aggressive chemotherapy started straight away and ended in April 2014. Following a 9 hour operation to remove remaining tumour tissue, we all flew out to Oklahoma for 8 weeks so that Emma could start Proton Beam Therapy.
Everyone who receives Proton Therapy at ProCure gets to ring the End of Treatment bell straight after their last treatment and like everyone else, we couldn't wait for Emma to get up there and ring it!
It's not just a bell - it's a symbol of hope; of feeling like you are winning the battle and every single person who rang that bell felt exactly the same way. We all stopped whatever we were doing and crowded the lobby so we could support the latest warrior!
When we returned to the UK, we couldn't believe that such a simple idea had never been placed into any of the hospitals here. We approached Helen, the ward 84 manager at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and asked if we could provide one for the ward. She agreed it was a brilliant idea and so we had one designed and made by our friend Joe Faulkner who owns Sign and Display Limited.
The bell was ready in time for Emma to be its first ringer- this happened on the 9th April 2014. We were overjoyed and very emotional.
Since then, the bell has been rung by thousands of patients and now has it's own facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/Endoftreatmentbells
People post their photographs and videos here and it really is wonderful to see families celebrate the end of a very long and emotional journey. The bell is not just great for the families- it's great for the staff as well. Every time someone rings the bell, it means that their hard work and dedication are paying off too. More and more people survive cancer these days and this simple symbol of hope is both moving and morale boosting for the heroic doctors and nurses who treat them.
Each bell costs approximately £145 to make and distribute - every penny we receive in donations is spent on funding more bells. We are completely non-profit.
To be clear, we are part of a registered charity (The Maria Watt Foundation - charity number 1118733) and can supply bells free of charge within the UK. We understand that you may wish to donate to us for a bell for your hospital and we are more than happy to do that. Your donations help us to place more bells.
You can also text your donation to 70070 using the code EOTB48 (space) followed by an amount including the pound sign (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10)
If you are interested in a bell for your hospital, please message us through our facebook page.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this x
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity
We have also donated a further 11 Bells in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Dubai
We are totally non-profit and rely on the kindness and goodwill of our supporters in funding more bells.
We are able to ship bells worldwide - please get in touch via our facebook page.
This is why we do what we do...
Our daughter Emma was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, in September 2013 when she was 8 years old. Aggressive chemotherapy started straight away and ended in April 2014. Following a 9 hour operation to remove remaining tumour tissue, we all flew out to Oklahoma for 8 weeks so that Emma could start Proton Beam Therapy.
Everyone who receives Proton Therapy at ProCure gets to ring the End of Treatment bell straight after their last treatment and like everyone else, we couldn't wait for Emma to get up there and ring it!
It's not just a bell - it's a symbol of hope; of feeling like you are winning the battle and every single person who rang that bell felt exactly the same way. We all stopped whatever we were doing and crowded the lobby so we could support the latest warrior!
When we returned to the UK, we couldn't believe that such a simple idea had never been placed into any of the hospitals here. We approached Helen, the ward 84 manager at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and asked if we could provide one for the ward. She agreed it was a brilliant idea and so we had one designed and made by our friend Joe Faulkner who owns Sign and Display Limited.
The bell was ready in time for Emma to be its first ringer- this happened on the 9th April 2014. We were overjoyed and very emotional.
Since then, the bell has been rung by thousands of patients and now has it's own facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/Endoftreatmentbells
People post their photographs and videos here and it really is wonderful to see families celebrate the end of a very long and emotional journey. The bell is not just great for the families- it's great for the staff as well. Every time someone rings the bell, it means that their hard work and dedication are paying off too. More and more people survive cancer these days and this simple symbol of hope is both moving and morale boosting for the heroic doctors and nurses who treat them.
Each bell costs approximately £145 to make and distribute - every penny we receive in donations is spent on funding more bells. We are completely non-profit.
To be clear, we are part of a registered charity (The Maria Watt Foundation - charity number 1118733) and can supply bells free of charge within the UK. We understand that you may wish to donate to us for a bell for your hospital and we are more than happy to do that. Your donations help us to place more bells.
You can also text your donation to 70070 using the code EOTB48 (space) followed by an amount including the pound sign (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10)
If you are interested in a bell for your hospital, please message us through our facebook page.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this x
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity