Hopes fun day will raise £10k for fund to send brave tot Ivy-Louise to USA for cancer treatment

It has been five months since little Ivy-Louise Wilkinson was diagnosed with rare childhood cancer neuroblastoma.
Little Ivy-Louise GawthorpeLittle Ivy-Louise Gawthorpe
Little Ivy-Louise Gawthorpe

In that time, the kindness of both her community and strangers has seen nearly £70,000 donated to help send the Ackworth tot to America for specialist treatment.

And next month, organisers of a family fun day in Kinsley, just outside Hemsworth, hope to add a further £10,000 to the pot.

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Neal Wilson, who sits on the event's organising committee said: "I wish we could do more. I wish I was a millionaire and could give them all the money. It's so sad.

Ivy-Louise with her dad Jamie Wilkinson and mum Kerri-Lee Gawthorpe.Ivy-Louise with her dad Jamie Wilkinson and mum Kerri-Lee Gawthorpe.
Ivy-Louise with her dad Jamie Wilkinson and mum Kerri-Lee Gawthorpe.

"But it is great that we can support them and know that anything we raise will go into the kitty towards their target."

Ivy-Louise, who has been undergoing treatment at Leeds General Infirmary, was given a 50:50 chance of survival after being diagnosed in January, aged just 14 months.

Her family and friends are trying to raise £200,000 to cover the costs of taking her to the United States for a special vaccine that through clinical trials has been shown to prevent a relapse from neuroblastoma.

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They were told about the trial by the Bradley Lowery Foundation, set up in memory of the famous six-year-old Sunderland youngster who passed away last year from the same condition.

Ivy-Louise's mum Kerri-Lee said: "She is doing brilliantly. To say she has been through high dose chemotherapy that completely ruins your body and takes all your energy, she has completely bounced back."

Kerri-Lee thanked those who had supported their fundraising drive, by raising awareness or making donations.

She said: "When Ivy was first diagnosed, you think that you are on your own. But when you see all the support that we have had, and in some cases from people who don't know us, it's brilliant. It really is appreciated."

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Next month's fun day is taking place at Kinsley Boys Football Club on Saturday, July 28 from 11am.

It will include amateur boxing matches, a bouncy castle, face painting, magic show, barbecue and live music.

The event is an annual fun day organised in memory of Hemsworth dad Christopher Askham, fondly known as Tig, who died in a car crash in May 2009.

It was first set up to raise funds to support his daughter's future but for the last few years has helped community causes.

It is now also held in memory of Debbie James, who was supported by the event after it raised £7,000 to send her to Germany for cancer treatment. She later lost her battle with the disease.

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