The parents of a baby who died from leukaemia have expressed their heartfelt thanks after hundreds of people showed support by attending a fundraiser in her name.
The Royston Family Fun Day event raised more than £6,000 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, in memory of baby Mia Samuels, who lost her fight to acute lymphoblastic leukaemia five years ago.
For the first time, Mia’s mum Nicola spoke publicly about her daughter’s journey at the fundraiser, causing many in the crowd to shed a tear.
She said: “Our Family Fun Day was a huge success as we saw hundreds of people come along and support us.
“There were lots of familiar faces but also lots of new ones. The turnout was just fantastic. It was simply amazing to see how our community all came together to support us and our charity.”
At one stage, the sky lit up in a sea of colour as balloons were released in memory of loved ones. Nicola said: “Although it was emotional it was also very magical.”
Activities and performances included pony and cart rides, fair rides, soft play, assault course, stocks for sponge throwing, coconut shy, beat the goalie and tug of war challenges. Punters were also treated to a dazzling Frozen performance, dance extravaganzas by Stage Right and G-Stars, and songs by Melissa Hayley Baker.
In addition there were cake stalls, raffle, tombola, lucky dips and teddy stalls.
Nicola and Mia’s father Ben would like to thank their sponsors, performers, suppliers and volunteers for supporting the event and helping make it a huge success.
Special thanks also are given to the cake makers, their photographer Amy Murphy who captured the day, to the local community and all those who donated prizes.
Nicola said: “Everyone’s generosity was amazing and totally overwhelming and we can’t thank them all enough.
“Thanks also to Toby and his staff at the Heath for providing such a fantastic venue and service and to help make the day a huge success.”
Lastly, they would like to thank all their friends and Nicola’s family who have supported them and got them through some incredibly difficult and heartbreaking times.
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