Golden Valley Faces: The photographs of Richard Jenkins, by Hilary Engel
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Laurie Engel Fund

Laurie was treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, the childhood cancer centre for much of England. The Engel family found the medical care there world-class, but the facilities and surroundings dismal.

The Engel family set up the Laurie Engel Fund to try to ensure future patients have better conditions than Laurie did. Working initially with Teenage Cancer Trust, the fund raised £1.1m – and as a result a new £2.5m teenage unit opened in 2010. It was a huge success, delighting patients, parents and staff and setting new standards at the hospital.

The snag was that the unit created a big discrepancy between the facilities available to teenagers and to younger children, who were still being housed in the old, low-grade wards. Recognising the problem, Birmingham Children’s Hospital launched a £4m appeal to bring all their cancer facilities into a similar class.

In 2013 the Laurie Engel Fund switched to supporting the hospital’s own appeal. This target was reached, and the new four-storey building, Waterfall House, opened in 2018.

The Laurie Engel Fund is now again supporting Teenage Cancer Trust, raising funds for activities, outings and treats to boost morale for the young people receiving treatment on the teenage unit, and their families. And thanks to a sudden rush of generous gifts, we are now able to fund the provision of a specialist teenager cancer nurse based in Worcester, and covering Herefordshire. This role might have been a huge help to Laurie, had it existed then.

Please support us, Laurie, and all the children who will have to endure treatment for cancer in the future.