Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
A twist of Lemon fires Kelly fund
A concert to raise money to fund a life-saving operation for a 16-year-old cancer sufferer will be held in Canterbury next month.
Organised by singing teacher Lemon Otter, it will feature her group, The Lemon Zingers, pupils from St Christopher’s School in New Dover Road and performers from city-based Phoenix Performing Arts.
Money raised will go to the funding drive for Kelly Turner, from Dover, who needs to raise £1 million for specialist surgery in America or face the possibility of death within two years.
The concert will take place in Canterbury’s Salvation Army hall, where Lemon promises a special evening.
She said: “It will be Christmassy, have a musical theatre element, feel a bit like a pop festival and have lots of harmonies.
“Kelly’s fundraising is doing well, but it’s still far from the amount she needs to raise to have her operation in the States.
“It’s vital we try to raise as much money as we can as soon as we can in order to help get her there.”
Kelly, who has a rare cancer known as desmoplastic small round cell tumour, has been treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where she has had chemotherapy.
Her friends and family are raising the money to send her to New York’s Sloan Kettering centre, regarded as one of the best cancer hospitals in the world. They have so far raised £773,000.
Lemon’s concert at the Salvation Army hall in White Horse Lane starts at 7pm on Saturday, December 3.
Tickets are available on the door and cost £7 for adults or £5 for children and students.
If they are sold out in the well of the hall, seats on the balcony with restricted viewing will be offered for a reduced price.
Visit www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/kelly-turner2000 to find out more about Kelly or to support the fundraising effort.