SIX months after his untimely death, the money raised in honour of brave teenager Ben Pavitt has reached close to £60,000.

Nearly £28,000 has now been raised for his Legacy of Love fund with the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group .

That's on top of the more than £30,000 raised by Ben and his family, friends and associates for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and Piam Brown ward in Southampton and Teenage Cancer Trust while he underwent treatment for acute T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoblastic lymphoma.

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Dad Mike, Mum Suzie and sister Lauren, from Marchwood, have set themselves an ambitious target and are aiming to have raised over £100,000 by the second anniversary of his death.

Events are now being planned right up until September 2023 and Ben's fund has been overwhelmingly chosen by staff to be Paris Smith's next charity partner alongside the British Red Cross: DEC Ukraine Emergency Appeal.

Ben's father Mike, a partner with the law firm, acknowledged generous individual donors and fundraisers, corporate donations / fundraise matching from Lloyds Bank and Mazars, and retiring collection donations from SOS Presents, RAODS and Eastleigh Operatic and Musical Society.

He told the Daily Echo: "The community spirit and effort shown has been truly inspiring.

Daily Echo:

"Every single penny we raise will benefit the 400,000 children and teenagers who are diagnosed worldwide every year. The Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group has been making a difference for 45 years but they need our help today more than ever, so that families like ours might be spared the devastation of losing a child to childhood cancers in the future.”

Former Noadswood School pupil Ben, a keen student, footballer, actor, gamer and cat lover, was just 16 when he passed away following a hard-fought battle with cancer last October.

To donate to his fund, visit specialnamedfunds.cclg.org.uk/ben-pavitts-legacy-of-love-fund/

 

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