An organisation which will be fondly remembered

THE Toma Fund helped hundreds and will be fondly remembered by the families who benefited from its work.

Andrea and Dave Thompson initially started their charity by raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, but it soon became a fully-fledged charity in its own right. In 2014, it raised its first £1m, helping around 100 families in that 12 months.

Its remit was to provide things existing charities generally didn’t: everything from an iPad to help occupy a teenager’s time in hospital, to repairs for a broken washing machine for a family whose medical needs meant they need a constant supply of clean sheets.

The idea was to relieve the burden for people who were already having to cope with the heartache of a seriously ill child.

It quickly gained support across the North East, with backing from both community groups and big names. The Newcastle United Academy hosted Toma Football tournaments, while its events attracted support from current and former Newcastle United players, including Steve Harper and Paul Dummett.

Among those to be helped by the charity was Tynemouth student Emily Rudd who in 2013, at the age of 21, drew on the Toma Fund’s financial support to enable her to continue her university studies in Hull, despite battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The charity paid for Emily to travel down to Hull and stay in a hotel to complete her final exams for her psychology degree, which she passed.

With the fund’s closure, a spokesperson announced its leftover cash would be going to good causes. A final donation of £110,000 will help refurbish the Children’s Oncology outpatient ward at the Great North Children’s Hospital.