A BIG-HEARTED volunteer will be taking almost a month off work to devote his time to a charity, which helps families touched by cancer.
Jamie Page, 43, of Lawford, who is a freelance civil engineer, will be spending 24 days this winter helping Young Lives vs Cancer in a bid to raise £1,000 for each day he volunteers.
The initiative will take place every day from November 31 until December 23.
To smash his £24,000 target, Jamie has planned a number of community events to bring everyone together, while raising money for the cause.
Jamie has been doing fundraising projects since 1999, but has never been involved in a charity, which inspired him to go behind the scenes.
He said: "I have always sent the money off and as soon as that closes off you never see how it is being spent.”
During his 24 days of volunteering, Jamie will also helping at the charity’s Paul’s House in London, which offers free accommodation for parents who want to stay close to their child during cancer treatment.
Jamie added: “ As a social engineer I talk to people all the time, so I will be giving some training on how to deal with inclusion and understand all the emotions people have.”
To help his fundraising bid in December, Jamie is encouraging residents to take part in a number of charity events.
Those will include walks, prize draws, meal deals and a table top sale.
The Light the Night walk will take place on November 17, with two routes going around Lawford and the Lawford Dale before returning back to the centre.
The gold route is a flat two-kilometre walk and will take a slow-medium paced walker between 30 to 45 minutes to complete.
The pink walk, on the other hand, is almost four kilometres long, with a slight incline in parts and will take up to an 90 minutes to finish.
The event, which is inviting residents to dress up with glow sticks and flashing clothes and trainers, will also be available to people with disabilities due to the accessibility of the route.
Jamie said: “Lights in the night may have some kind of connection with people who have lost someone. It is this philosophy that you then light up a dark space.
“The Venture Centre will also be holding a raffle, selling glow sticks and there will also be a tombola and other games everyone can take part in.”
Another way residents can raise funds is simply by having a meal at Manningtree’s Mogul.
Jamie has worked closely with the business to set up the Curry against Cancer initiative, which is currently available and will stay in place until the end of the year.
The scheme will see £1.50 of certain meals go to the cancer charity.
Volunteers can also take part in a festive raffle, with prizes being drawn on December 19 and a table top sale at the Venture Centre, which will run on December 4 from 10am to 2pm.
Jamie added: "I want to say a special thank you to all the businesses for their continued support.
“We obviously all know someone who has been through cancer treatment.
“Last year Young Lives vs Cancer have lost a lot of funding during COVID – this fundraising will be a way to give back to the local community.”
To support the fundraising visit justgiving.com/fundraising/jamiepage24000
To sign up for the events email lawford.charity@gmail.com
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