Liam Johnson, 12, from Soham, organised the games in memory of his twin sister, Lucy, who died in April. Liam and Lucy, as well as their older sister, Katie, 14, and parents, Sharon and Andrew, all received care and support from EACH.
Lucy lived with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a rare and severe type of epilepsy, had global developmental delay and was registered blind. She benefited from hydrotherapy, music therapy and short breaks at EACH’s Milton hospice, and that is where she spent her final days, surrounded by family and friends.
Liam’s football matches followed the efforts of a 32-strong group of family and friends who ran EACH’s Inflatable Colour Dash, in June at Huntingdon Racecourse, to raise over £7,000.
EACH cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions, and supports their families, across Cambridgeshire and the rest of the region. It costs more than £16,000 a day to run the service.
In the past financial year, EACH shops generated an impressive profit of over £900,000. The charity’s newest outlet in Ely will offer the same range of high-quality goods customers of its existing shops are used to, focusing specifically on ladieswear.
Gillian Platell, Shop Manager, said: “We believe we’ve got a great offering for shoppers and are excited to become part of the Ely community. It will be an honour to have Liam joining us for the ribbon-cutting, too.
“Anyone who’s been to an EACH shop before will have experienced a great range of stock, welcoming staff and volunteers – and it will be the same here! Please come along to celebrate our opening and see what bargains you can pick out.”
The shop, in High Street, will open on Thursday, 4 October and trade seven days a week.
EACH opened five shops across the region last year, including one in Cherry Hinton. As well as a shop in Soham, the charity has also opened four in Norfolk, one in Suffolk and one in Essex so far in 2018. This latest one in Ely will be its 34th overall.
It would be pleased to receive donations of the following clean and good-quality goods to sell: clothing, bric-a-brac, modern paperbacks, toys, jewellery, DVDs/CDs, household linens, retro and vintage clothes and small electrical items. These can be dropped off from Monday, 1 October.
EACH also needs donations of good-quality furniture and can collect it free of charge if you are unable to transport it yourself. Contact its Retail Distribution Centre on 01842 821620 for more information.
To put into context the difference just a small donation to the shop can make to the vital work EACH does, here are some examples of what your donation could pay for:
- A top, skirt or pair of trousers worth £5 could pay for art supplies for a session of art therapy
- A tea set worth £10 could fund a nursing care kit
- A nice wedding hat or jacket worth £20 could pay for a support group for siblings
- An item of good-quality furniture or prom dress worth £35 could pay for an hour of specialist care.
The shop will also be accepting cakes for EACH’s stall at Ely Cathedral’s Christmas Gift & Food Fair in November. Cakes must be donated in decent quality tubs with lids.
Anyone interested in more information on volunteering at the Ely shop should email volunteerservices@each.org.uk or call Sarah on 07540 335680.