Help the Hawke Family Stay Together During Tanwen's Leukemia

Dear all,

We are coming together as neighbours and friends of the Hawke family - Rob, Kay, and their five amazing children - to ask for your support during an unimaginably difficult time.

Tanwen, their youngest, who just turned two in April, has just been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She has already begun chemotherapy and steroid treatment at Telford Hospital, over 20 miles from their rural home in Nesscliffe, Shropshire. Whilst Tanwen's prognosis is hopeful her treatment will stretch over at least the next two years and although she may eventually be able to spend some of her treatment time at home, this is a long way off and she will be mostly living at Telford Hospital for the next several months.

The challenge is: neither Rob nor Kay drives. This is a rural area with minimal public transport options and just getting to and from the hospital is a huge logistical and emotional strain, not to mention the difficulty of balancing care for their four other children (ages 13, 9, 7 and 5). The local community is already pulling together to help offer lifts, childcare and support but relying on strangers is hard, and we, as their community, want to do more.

Rob and Kay are doing everything they can. Rob’s workplace has generously offered flexibility so he can take on weekday caregiving duties while Kay takes weekends. But that means they’ll be splitting their time, rarely seeing each other, and trying to keep life steady for their children through it all.

This is where we’re asking for your help.

We are fundraising to raise £7,000 to:

This will give the family precious independence to travel to the hospital safely and more easily, take turns staying with Tanwen, and bring the other kids to see their sister.

We know times are tough for many, but any amount you can give, even just a few pounds, will make a real, tangible difference to the Hawke family.

Any additional funds we manage to raise will go to the family to help them cover household expenses and anything else they need to help ease the pressure a little whilst they are going through this incredibly challenging time.

If you can't donate, please help by sharing this appeal with your network.

Thank you,

Friends and neighbours of the Hawke family