Instead of buying us a wedding gift, you might like to make a donation to the Laurie Engel fund, which works with the Teenage Cancer Trust to help the many teenagers diagnosed with cancer each year. The fund is name after the son of our friends Matthew and Hilary Engel; Laurie died of cancer in 2005.

 Here is some information about the fund:

Laurie Engel was a smart, funny, charming, sparky, sporty boy. The world appeared to be at his feet. Then he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Despite over a year of intensive treatment, he died in September 2005 aged 13.

Laurie was treated at the Birmingham Children's Hospital, the childhood cancer centre for much of England. The Engel family found the medical there world-class, but the facilities and surroundings dismal. The hospital staff were also desperate to improve things.

The Engel family set up the Laurie Engel fund to work with Teenage Cancer Trust and the hospital to ensure future patients have better conditions than Laurie did. A spacious, state-of-the-art six-bed unit has now been completed and the first patients moved in in February this year. Paul has visited the new unit and seen the extraordinary difference it has made to the lives of teenagers in desperate circumstances.

The Engels started out hoping to raise £10,000 and have now raised more than £900,000. Laurie's fund will make a large contribution to this £2.5 million project, making a huge difference to the lives of the teenagers treated there. 

More information on the Laurie Engel Fund and the Teenage Cancer Trust is available from the websites below. You may also like to read the article Matthew Engel wrote for the Guardian about losing his son.

http://www.laurieengelfund.org/

 

http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2005/dec/03/familyandrelationships.health

 

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. Teenage Cancer Trust will receive your money directly and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Many thanks,

Polly and Paul