Forthcoming Events
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RAF Benson	2010 onwards	The charity have been invited to take sick children on visits to RAF Benson. We thank the 230 Tiger squadron for being so kind and helpful during the visits and in addition to this, the squadron are raising hundreds of pounds towards our cause by taking part in various sponsored challenges and helping us at our events. The squadron have also arranged for Santa to arrive by helicopter and distribute presents to Oxford's paediatric oncology ward. What a wonderful way to support our cause, thanks guys. You can view some fantastic photos from our recent trips to RAF Benson in our Photo Gallery.
Caps 4 Kids to mark International Childhood Cancer Day	15th February 2012	Once again we are asking schools and companies to help us mark International Childhood Cancer Day by allowing pupils and staff to wear a cap to school in February. Suggested donation is £1 towards childhood cancer research. Please contact the charity if your school/workplace can take part: email: tomballcharity@aol.com One child in every six hundred will receive a diagnosis of cancer, please continue to donate towards this very worthwhile cause which is grossly under funded compared to adult cancers. Click here to make a donation.
Thomas Ball Holiday Homes	Summer 2012	Although our holiday homes on the South coast in New Milton are available all year round, the summer season is always the busiest time. It costs around £400 for the charity to provide a weeks holiday for one family. Any donations towards this purpose will be very gratefully received. See Holiday Homes for further information.
New Book Available Now	BUCKINGHAMSHIRE HEROES by David Kidd-Hewitt is a collection of local stories about the heroic deeds and achievements of the people of Buckinghamshire. It includes Thomas Ball, who battled against a rare childhood cancer, author Roald Dahl, Florence Nightingale and the actors John Mills and Geoffrey Palmer. A quote from Thomas Ball appears in the book - "I've not done anything, only been ill". 210 x 150 mm Price: £7.99 + £1 p&p 40% of the sale price donated to The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund To order: Please send a cheque payable to The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund and your book will be dispatched upon receipt.
tbccf Wristbands	Show your support for children suffering from cancer and leukaemia. Minimum donation £1.00. To order your wristband and be one of the first to be wearing this trendy fashion accessory, please send a cheque payable to The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund, 18 Sixty Acres Road, Prestwood, Great Missenden, Bucks HP16 0PD, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope. Please allow 28 days for delivery.
Volunteers Needed	Volunteers are always needed to sell raffle tickets on behalf of the Charity or to take care of collecting boxes. If you can help in any way please contact the Charity.

Recent News
Go To Forthcoming Events

Christmas Party Disco	17th December 2011	The Christmas Disco and Grand Christmas Draw raised £800. A fun night was had by all at Great Missenden Memorial Centre. We would like to thank everyone who donated prizes, and our wonderful ticket sellers. Special thanks to the local Co-op food stores for supporting the raffle. Photos can be found in our photo gallery.
Angel Ball The Bellhouse Hotel, Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2XE	22nd October 2011	The 7th "Angel Ball", held once again at The Bellhouse Hotel in Beaconsfield, was a wonderful evening. 62 bereaved parents from various parts of the UK whose children have all died from neuroblastoma, came together for a night of rememberance and to meet new friends. Thanks to some very special guests on the evening, the event raised £8,000 that will be used to further neuroblastoma research. Very generous donations were made by Mr. Bambra & friends & Tania & Pete Hayhoe on behalf of "Georgies Fund" in memory of their dear son George. We thank all those organisations and kind persons who supported this poignant event. See our photo gallery for pictures of this very special evening; and read more from the Bucks Free Press here. Donations to support neuroblastoma research that receives no direct government funding can be made here: www.justgiving.com/combat-childhood-cancer. .
Street Collection, Eden Shopping Centre, High Wycombe	1st October 2011	The charity were given permission to collect within the new High Wycombe Eden Shopping Centre. This opportunity raised £180 from generous shoppers. Thanks to all our volunteers and the Eden management team who authorised this.
Street Collection, High Wycombe Town Centre	10th September 2011	Every year the trustees apply for a street licence to carry out a collection in High Wycombe town centre. Due to a lack of volunteers we were only able to cover the Chiltern Shopping Centre on this day but that didn't stop us from collecting an amazing £250 from the very generous public. We would like to thank all those who volunteered. If you can spare a few hours to help the charity with future collections, we would love to hear from you - tomballcharity@aol.com
Charity Mascot Race Nr. Beaconsfield HP10 0LX (M40, J2) www.oddsfarm.co.uk	2nd August 2011	We thank all our volunteers who helped at Odds Farm Park this year. The generous public supported our cause by donating a marvellous £250. We thank Odds Farm for choosing us again this year and all the mascots who turned out for the charity as temperatures soured. See our photo gallery for pictures of the event and read the news report here.
Midnight Dream Walk in Great Missenden & Prestwood, Bucks Thomas Ball aged 13 yrs, a year before he died, do it for children like him.	17th June 2011	Our 3rd midnight "Dream" walk was an amazing success with over fifty persons taking on the challenge. The event is expected to raise around £2,000 once all the sponsor money has been collected. We would like to thank all our volunteers for taking part in the walk, Proctor and Gamble for donating the torches, The Cooperative for providing the refreshments and Gt. Missenden Memorial Centre for their support. There's still time to show your support for our volunteers by texting: WALK22 £1 to 70070. Other compatible amounts are £2, £3, £4, £5 & £10. Newspaper link: Chesham Buckinghamshire Advertiser See photos here.
Caps 4 Kids to mark International Childhood Cancer Day	15th February 2011	Caps 4 Kids 2011 was a huge success with eight schools taking part raising a grand total of £1,500. This very useful amount has been put towards finding a cure for neuroblastoma. We would like to thank the following schools for their support: Prestwood Infant & Junior schools, Heritage House in Chesham, Curzon C of E near Amersham, Bedgrove Junior in Aylesbury, Sir Henry Floyd in Aylesbury, St. Josephs Catholic Primary in Thame and Aylesbury High School. One child in every six hundred will receive a diagnosis of cancer, please continue to donate towards this very worthwhile cause which is grossly under funded compared to adult cancers. Click here to make a donation.
M&S Simply Food, High Wycombe Retail Park	18th & 19th December 2010	Our final collecting weekend was hampered by heavy snow. Saturday was called off due to the treacherous weather conditions but on the Sunday, three of our volunteers managed to plough their way through the snow and collect a most welcome £189.23. We thank all those who have supported our collecting days throughout 2010. Please see this link for newspaper coverage of our efforts: Shoppers raise thousands for cancer charity
Disney Trip 2010	6th - 8th December 2010	Twelve families all having a child diagnosed with either cancer or leukemia were invited on our Disney trip. Seven families from The John Radcliffe, three families from The Royal Marsden and two families from Great Ormond Street all enjoyed a magical time, in spite of the heavy snow on our last day, a great time was had by all. We send enormous thanks to Mr. Bambra for funding our trip again this year. Please see this link for the newspaper report Magical Disney trip for terminally ill children and our Photo Gallery for the pictures taken by the families.
Chris Weeks Sings... Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra and more! THE OLD BENGAL, BEACONSFIELD HP9 1LZ	7th November 2010	Around 90 guests enjoyed this wonderful evening of "Music & Curry" at one of the finest restaurants in Beaconsfield. We would like to thank Chris Owen for orgainsing this spectacular event and the restaurant for the great atmosphere and food. We are delighted to report that a fantastic £1,669 was raised on the night.
M&S Simply Food, High Wycombe Retail Park	30th & 31st October 2010	Another very good weekend at M&S. We managed to collect a very useful £440.32. Thank you to all our collectors and the store for their support. Please contact the charity if you are able to help with store collections in the future, we are always looking for volunteers.
The Angel Ball	23rd October 2010	The "Angel Ball" now in it's sixth year, is a splendid black tie charity dinner and dance. Bereaved parents come from all over the UK to remember our lost children who have all died from neuroblastoma. We meet new friends and surprisingly we all have a wonderful evening. It's never too late to make a donation towards neuroblastoma research that receives no direct government funding, please visit this link: www.justgiving.com/combat-childhood-cancer. Pictures of the event can be viewed in our Photo Gallery.
M&S Simply Food, High Wycombe Retail Park	25th & 26th September 2010	We are extremely grateful to find a wonderful £465.67 in our charity buckets this weekend. Once again the public have been very generous and this will make a huge difference to our work. The trustees thank our wonderful volunteers who work tirelessly for our cause and M&S staff & customers for their support.
M&S Simply Food, High Wycombe Retail Park	28th & 29th August 2010	Another outstanding weekend collecting money outside M&S. An amazing £594.15 was donated by very generous customers. This is an incredible amount of money and will make such a difference to our work. We thank our wonderful volunteers for giving up their time, the public for their fantastic support and the store manager for making this possible.
Charity Mascot Race Nr. Beaconsfield HP10 0LX (M40, J2) www.oddsfarm.co.uk	3rd August 2010	Odds Farm Park near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, held a Mascot Racing Day to support the Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund. Special thanks go out to the staff of HSBC Bank in Hemel Hempstead who, together with our regular volunteers, managed to collect an amazing £350 from the public. We are also grateful to the farm for choosing our cause and to the families who gave so generously. To see photos of the day visit our Photo Gallery
M&S Simply Food, High Wycombe Retail Park	24th & 25th July 2010	Another very successful weekend collecting money outside M&S. An amazing £565.61 was donated by very generous customers. This has exceeded all expectations and will make such a difference to our work. We thank our loyal volunteers for giving up their time, the public for their tremendous support and the store manager for making this possible.
Speen Village Fete	Saturday 10th July 2010	The charity was chosen as the main beneficiary of this vibrant village fete. The weather was glorious and crowds were bursting to support the event. We thank all the local organisations who took part with such enthusiasm, in particular the 230 Squadron from RAF Benson who not only took part on the day but also flew in on a Puma helicopter to entertain the amazed crowd. The charity has been presented with a very handsome donation of £1,500. Enormous thanks go to the fete committee for organising the event and special thanks to Amanda Dobbs for her tremendous drive and determination that made the day such a success. We also thank David King the Fete President for bringing our cause to the attention of the fete committee and his first class skills on the PA system that brought the whole fete together on the day. For more photos of the fete visit our Photo Gallery
Midnight Dream Walk in Great Missenden & Prestwood, Bucks Thomas Ball aged 13 yrs, a year before he died, do it for children like him.	18th June 2010	A very successful fundraiser! We expect around £1,000 in sponsorship to be collected, which will make a huge difference to our work. Thanks to all our volunteers who took part on the evening. To read the full news report on this event, go to The Bucks Free Press. And, it's never too late to make a donation so please visit this link to support the Dream Walk.
M&S Simply Food, High Wycombe Retail Park	29th & 30th May 2010	We had a very successful collecting weekend at M & S. We are very pleased to report that a wonderful £502.02 was raised. Many thanks to our loyal, hardworking collectors but more volunteers are needed, please contact the charity if you are able to hold a collecting bucket for a two hour shift sometime in the future.
Spirit of Prestwood Fete	3rd May 2010, Bank Holiday Monday	The charity had a stall at this wonderful village event on the common in Prestwood, Great Missenden, Bucks. A great day was had by all and we raised around £200 on our stall and a further £260 with our annual draw that took place at the end of the fete. Thank you to all our supporters.
M&S Simply Food, High Wycombe Retail Park	24th & 25th April 2010	We had a very successful collecting weekend at M & S this year. We are delighted to report that an amazing £521.39 was raised. Many thanks to our loyal, hardworking collectors but more volunteers are needed, please contact the charity if you are able to hold a collecting bucket for a two hour shift sometime in the future.
Caps 4 Kids to mark International Childhood Cancer Day	15th February 2010	Once again we asked schools and companies to help us mark International Childhood Cancer Day by allowing pupils and staff to wear a cap to school in February. Suggested donation was £1 towards childhood cancer research. We send our thanks to Prestwood Junior School and The Aylesbury Vale Academy for taking part in our hat day and to the other schools and organisations who made donations. Please visit the Bucks Free Press for the news report. And you can visit our Photo Gallery for some brilliant pictures of the kids from Great Missenden Church of England Combined School supporting Caps 4 Kids. One child in every six hundred will receive a diagnosis of cancer, please continue to donate towards this very worthwhile cause which is grossly under funded compared to adult cancers. Click here to make a donation. To find out how you can run your own event to raise money for research or to get actively involved in our work, please contact the charity. We can't do this alone, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
Asda High Wycombe	20th December 2009	This final collecting day of 2009 raised a tremendous £285. We've had amazing support from ASDA High Wycombe this year as their chosen charity including customers donating toys and prizes towards our cause. Our thanks go out to all involved and we look forward to being invited back to ASDA in the future.
Disney Trip 2009	6th - 8th December 2009	Our annual Disney trip was wonderful. Ten families enjoyed a magical three day break in Paris. The children were referred from The John Radcliffe, The Royal Marsden and Gloucester Royal hospitals. The weather was extraordinary mild and each day we woke to brilliant winter sunshine. We are happy to report that all children remained well on the trip and we are looking forward to booking our next Disney break with the help of generous business man, Mr. Bambra who has funded most of our last three trips and agreed to do the same in 2010. See the Bucks Free Press for a news report and check out our Photo Gallery for more wonderful pictures.
The Spirit of Christmas	5th December 2009	A Christmas evening took place in the village of Prestwood where carol singing and lighting of the tree was the focal point of the event and even a temporary ice rink was set up for the celebrations. Local traders donated festive nibbles for the occasion and we were fortunate to have been chosen as one of the charities to benefit from funds raised. We send thanks to Prestwood Events Group and all the locals who supported the event and contributed to the £477 that we have gratefully received.
Street Collection, High Wycombe Town Centre	27th November 2009	We collected £337.67 in and around the High Wycombe shopping centres. Thanks go out to our faithful volunteers who stand outside in all weathers. We also thank all those kind people who donated.
Asda High Wycombe	21/22nd November 2009	In spite of this being "Children in Need" weekend, our determined volunteers managed to collect £850 over the two days. We thank all our supporters.
The Angel Ball	24th October 2009	The "Angel Ball" is a very special event that we hold each year to remember our lost children and at the same time raise money for neuroblastoma research. The Ball was held at The Bellhouse Hotel in Beaconsfield. Parents who have lost a child to cancer enjoyed a special evening where we remembered our lost children, met new friends and offered support to one another. There was a 3 course dinner and a disco. To make a donation or to see money raised, please visit this link: www.justgiving.com/combat-childhood-cancer. To see more photos from the Angel Ball visit our Photo Gallery
Asda High Wycombe	13th September 2009	Sunday collecting days are always less busy but amazingly our collectors managed to raise £270 outside the store. Well done everyone!
	6th September 2009	The Great British Duck Race was reported to be a great success, the amount raised for our cause will appear here as soon as we are notified by the Duck Race office. Meanwhile, here are the winning ducks: 1. 023871 2. 209579 3. 122117 4. 051120 5. 186992 6. 062050 7. 092077 8. 184301 9. 183301 10. 204553 11. 039289 12. 030552 13. 218127 14. 111676 15. 205643 16. 167411 17. 229895 18. 018534 19. 001358 20. 017328 21. 179913 22. 177294 23. 182552 24. 223431 25. 240309 26. 081888 27. 065081 28. 241025 29. 193151 30. 058600 31. 013728   www.thegreatbritishduckrace.co.uk
Asda High Wycombe	15/16th August 2009	We have been chosen again as charity of the year for Asda, High Wycombe. Our first session this year went really well with almost £700 collected over the two days. We are enormously grateful to all our faithful volunteers who work so hard to make these days successful. New volunteers are always needed for our collecting days, this involves holding a collecting bucket for a two hour slot. Please check our forthcoming events for other collecting days.
	July 2009	It is with regret that our association with Parker Lewis has come to an end on 10th July 2009. Since 2007 the charity has received a percentage from the company's advertising sales. Due to the credit crunch and organisations having limited budget for advertising, Parker Lewis are currently unable to support us. We thank Parker Lewis for all the donations that we have received over the last two years, this money has made such a difference to our work. We also thank all those companies who have placed adverts and supported the charity.
Rock 'n' Roll Evening with the B17s	20th June 2009	Once again we experienced a night of nostalgic rock 'n' roll with the infamous B17s. Around 70 people jived the night away at Adams Park, the home of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club. The event including "Tom's Grand Summer Draw" raised a very handsome £1,350. We are grateful to all our ticket sellers, all those kind people who donated prizes and as always our faithful supporters who joined us on the evening, most having made the effort to wear 1950's dress. To see some fabulous photos from our fun 50s night, visit our Photo Gallery
Penn and Tyler's Green Super Fun Run	6th /7th June 2009	The Penn and Tyler's Green Super Fun Run has been held every year since 1984, making this the 26th Super Fun Run. 950 runners took part in the two main races and 100 children joined in the mini marathons. Preliminary figures show that over £10,000 has been raised on the day with more funds expected to come in once runners have collected their sponsor money The Super Fun Run Organising Committee and the Thomas Ball Children’s Cancer Fund would like to thank all those who ran in the event this year, those who came to support and especially all those who gave up their time to help with organising and running the event. The day would not have been the success without all this support. To see the results please visit Penn and Tylers Green Community Website. Visit Bucks Free Press for newspaper coverage. For more photos visit our Photo Gallery.
Asda High Wycombe	22/23/24th May 2009	We are delighted to report that after counting our buckets from the Saturday and Sunday, we had collected £802.20. In addition to this, the Friday was manned for us by employees of Marlow company, Dun and Bradstreet. The company has matched what their employees collected on that day which doubled their collection to £1,074.64, combined with ours, the grand total over the three days was a tremendous £1,876.84 the most we have ever achieved at Asda. Many thanks and well done to everyone.
70's Disco	25th April 2009	The 70's disco in Great Missenden saw an extraordinary night of fun where we brought back all our favourite tunes and donned outfits of the era including platform shoes and flares. Around 65 people boogied the night away and we raised a fantastic £400. Thank you to all those who came along on the evening and supported the event. For more photos of our step back in time visit our Photo Gallery.
Caps 4 Kids to mark International Childhood Cancer Day	9th to 15th February 2009	We asked schools to help us mark International Childhood Cancer Day by allowing pupils to wear a cap to school. Suggested donation was £1 towards childhood cancer research. We would like to thank the following schools for supporting us with the "Caps 4 Kids" appeal: Beechview School in High Wycombe, Denham Village Infant School, Aylesbury High School, Prestwood Infant and Junior Schools and Haydon Abbey school in Aylesbury. The Amersham Ladies Circle also supported the cause with a very kind donation. Altogether £1,183 was raised. Please continue to donate towards this very worthwhile cause which is grossly under funded compared to adult cancers. Click here to make a donation. To see the newspaper article on this event please visit this link Schoolchildren put their caps on for fundraiser. To find out how you can run your own event to raise money for research or to get actively involved in our work, please contact the charity. We can't do this alone, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
Santa's Christmas Float	16th December 2008	The charity was invited again this year to help with the High Wycombe Lions Club "Santa Christmas Float". As Santa toured the streets of High Wycombe with his reindeers, we carried out a door to door collection for local causes. All money collected on the evening has been shared between various good causes and the charity is delighted to have received £150. Many thanks to our eight volunteers who did a tremendous job on the night.
Disney 2008	7th - 9th December 2008	Our annual group holiday to Euro Disney was once again, a magical experience. Twelve children suffering from various cancers were selected to benefit from this three day break although three children suffered infections at the last minute and were unable to travel, these children will be offered the same holiday at a later date. The children and families that did make the trip were chosen from various hospitals across the UK from Oxford to Manchester and a magnificent time was had by all. We would like to thank Mr. Bambra for putting up all the money again to fund this trip and for promising to do the same again for December 2009. Please see this news link for the full story - Magical Disneyland trip for seriously ill children. For more photos of this year's magical trip visit our Photo Gallery.
The Spirit of Christmas	6th December 2008	A Christmas evening took place in the village of Prestwood where carol singing and lighting of the tree was the focal point of the event. Local traders donated festive nibbles for the occasion and around £800 was collected to be shared amongst four local charities. We are delighted to receive almost £200 towards our cause.
Street Collection, High Wycombe	29th November 2008	Our annual street collection in High Wycombe town centre went well. Just over £600 was donated. Thanks to all our volunteers who work so hard in all weathers without complaint. Help is always needed to operate these collecting days successfully, please contact the charity if you can spare a couple of hours.
The Angel Ball	25th October 2008	The Angel Ball is a very special event that we hold each year to remember our lost children and at the same time raise money for neuroblastoma research. Now in it's fourth year, the Angel Ball took place at The Bellhouse Hotel in Beaconsfield. Parents who have lost children to childhood cancer were invited to come along and join us for a poignant evening that held special memories for all of us. £1,500 was raised for neuroblastoma research. Thank you to all those who attended and supported the event and to all those organisations who donated prizes and cash including Chiltern Railways, Manchester United, Arsenal & Wycombe Wanderers Football Clubs, British Airways Flying Club, Eileen Wilson and Chris Butler and The Marlow Club. Donations can still be made at www.justgiving.com/combat-childhood-cancer. For more photos of this year's special evening visit our Photo Gallery.
3 Peaks Challenge	1st to 5th September 2008	Ed Boakes, Chris Childs, Tom Brockett and Vicky Boakes completed the National 3 Peaks Challenge during the first week of September. The challenge involved climbing the 3 highest peaks in the British Isles - Ben Nevis (1344m), Mount Snowdon (1085m) and Scafell Pike (978m). The team travelled to Scotland on Monday 1st September and took on Ben Nevis the following day. Wednesday 3rd September saw them in the Lake District tackling Scafell Pike and they finished the challenge in Wales on the Thursday by scaling Mount Snowdon. Well done guys! The team are still collecting the money but expect to raise over £1,000, more news as soon as we have it.
The Great British Duck Race	31st August 2008	A quarter of a million yellow plastic ducks were released into the River Thames to race on a 1 kilometre dedicated course at Molesey Lock, near Hampton Court Palace. Persons were invited to adopt a duck for £2 and take part in this exciting race. There were top prizes for the winners including a first prize of £10,000. Donations made over and above the £2 adoption fee which included a donation towards the 3 lead charities, have benefited The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund. The total amount raised for our cause was £273.
Asda, High Wycombe	12th/13th July 2008	Our very special volunteers collected all over the weekend and we were really surprised to find £915 in our charity buckets. Asda were also involved in a Nestle promotion that included a raffle to win a fabulous scooter, this brought in a further £500 making the grand total £1,415. The staff and customers were as usual, very supportive and we thank all those kind people who made donations and bought raffle tickets. We are also extremely grateful to Nestle for donating the brand new scooter. For more photos visit our Photo Gallery.
British 10k London Run 2008	6th July 2008	The trustees are very grateful to the Dun & Bradstreet team for taking part in the British 10k London Run on 6th July 2008. You can find out how they did by visiting www.justgiving.com/dnbteam. It's not too late to make a donation. Well done everyone.
Rock 'n' Roll Evening with 'The B17s'	7th June 2008	The 50's night with the infamous B17's at Adams Park, was a fantastic evening with most guests dressing in 50's gear for the occasion. The atmosphere was nostalgic and the dancing amazing. We rock and rolled the night away and together with the Grand Summer Draw and Auction we raised an amazing £2,300. The trustees would like to thank all those kind people who bought tickets and donated prizes. Special thanks go to our draw ticket sellers, Wycombe Wanderers, The Marlow Club, Parker Lewis Ltd. and Viv and John Docket for donating their apartment in Lanzarote for auction. For more photos of this fun evening, please visit our Photo Gallery.
Asda, High Wycombe	23rd/24th May 2008	Asda, High Wycombe, again invited us to collect at the store and they had also organised a BBQ in their car park. With a contribution from the bouncy castle and the AA who also had a stall, the total amount raised over this charity weekend was £1,496.61 - an absolutely amazing amount of money! We would like to thank all the Asda staff and customers for giving so generously. Special thanks go to Stuart Johnson who organised the whole event. See forthcoming events for our next collecting days at Asda.
Spirit of Prestwood Fete	5th May 2008 Bank Holiday Monday	A stall at the village fete has raised almost £300 for our cause. The crowd enjoyed a very warm sunny day that contributed to the roaring success of the event. There was a great community atmosphere and an opportunity to raise awareness of childhood cancer and our work. We thank all our supporters who gave so generously on the day.
Valentine's Dinner & Dance	15th February 2008	A special Valentines evening at The Chequers Chinese Restaurant in Prestwood, Gt. Missenden has raised almost £400 towards neuroblastoma research. The 3 course meal and disco was a very enjoyable evening and we thank all those who supported us.
Asda, High Wycombe	26th/27th January 2008	An amazing £790.00 was collected outside Asda High Wycombe over 2 days. We are delighted with this very useful amount of money and the trustees would like to thank the 8 volunteers who helped them to achieve this . The trustees are very grateful to the customers and staff of Asda High Wycombe for being so generous and supportive.
Street Collection, High Wycombe	21st December 2007	The charity carried out a street collection in High Wycombe town centre. The weather was cold and we struggled to find volunteers because of it being a working day, however a tremendous £773.10 was collected. We are very grateful to our 7 volunteers who did a marvellous job and to the people of High Wycombe who gave so generously.
Santa's Christmas Float	16th December 2007	The charity assisted the High Wycombe Lions Club with the very popular "Santa Christmas Float". As Santa toured the streets of High Wycombe with his reindeers, we carried out a door to door collection for local causes. The charity will receive a share of the profits later in the new year, the total will be displayed here once we have received the money. The trustees would like to thank the staff of JNP Partnership in Prestwood for helping with this event.
Euro Disney 2007	9th - 11th December 2007	For the third year, the charity took a group of children suffering from cancer to Disneyland Resort Paris. The weather was not kind to us and it rained constantly for most of the holiday but it didn't dampen the spirits of the children. All twelve families had a wonderful time and there were no reports of any children feeling unwell during the 3 days. We thank The John Radcliffe and The Royal Marsden Hospitals for selecting these families and for all the administration and communication that was involved to make this magical holiday a roaring success. The money for this trip was donated by Mr. Bambra from Iver Recycling and the former charity Daydreams in memory of Jamie Rendall. Several children and their families will enjoy the Disney experience throughout the year due to the trip being completely full. We need your help to provide holidays for future children. Please donate and make it happen for these very sick deserving children. For more photos of this years wonderful trip, please visit our Photo Gallery
The Spirit of Christmas	1st December 2007	Lighting of the Christmas tree and carol singers in Prestwood village centre was an evening filled with community spirit, with local businesses offering their support. The evening finished with a karaoke in the Chequers Public House. The charity was one of four local causes chosen to benefit from collections made on the night. We would like to thank the JNP Partnership for taking care of our collecting box and for providing a chocolate fountain for the evening, £110.00 was raised. Thanks are also given to The Chequers Public House whose raffle netted a further £140.00 towards our cause.
Angel Ball	27th October 2007	As always the Angel Ball was magical. We all had a wonderful evening and had the chance to meet friends old and new. The event is primarily to bring together bereaved parents, their families & friends, if we raise any money in the process then it's a bonus. On this occasion we raised £700 towards neuroblastoma research. We thank those families who supported us and all the kind people who donated prizes and gave so generously in the raffle and auction. For more photos of this wonderful evening visit our Photo Gallery
The Great British Duck Race	2nd September 2007	On Sunday 2nd September 2007, 165,000 rubber ducks were released into the River Thames near Hampton Court Palace. Two thousand spectators came to watch The Great British Duck Race that has smashed the Guinness World Record for the worlds biggest charity duck race, previously held by Singapore. Over 450 charities from across the UK were involved. Our charity supporters were invited to adopt a duck for the cost of £2 and any money donated over and above this amount would be donated towards our work. We are pleased to report that a total of 231 ducks were adopted giving £185.00 to the three lead charities. Our supporters didn't stop at that because a further £495.88 was very generously donated to our fund. The owner of the first duck to cross the finish line received a massive £10,000, with other superb prizes awarded to the owners of the next 29 ducks to finish the race. Winning duck numbers can be found at The Great British Duck Race A Duck Race of this magnitude has never been attempted in the UK before and was held in close partnership with the River Thames Alliance and the Environment Agency, all ducks were safely removed from the Thames after the race. The trustees thank all those kind people who donated. See our forthcoming events for details of The Great British Duck Race 31st August 2008.
The 3 Peaks Challenge	2nd July 2007	All the Chiltern Railways team managed to finish the 3 Peaks Challenge. An amazing £4,873.00 was raised. Most of this money has been used towards "The Thomas Ball Room" within the oncology ward that opened in 2007 at the new children's hospital in Oxford. Very well done to the team: Tony Merridan, Rob Samuels, Russell Joy-Young, Michael Goodman, Dean Stewart and Keith Pottinger. We also thank Chiltern Railways and The John Laing Charitable Trust for their generous donations.
Bone Marrow Clinic	21st June 2007	Urgent Appeal - It's still not too late to save a life. In partnership with The Anthony Nolan Trust the Charity held a Bone Marrow Clinic to coincide with the fourth anniversary of Thomas Ball's passing, to honour his memory in a positive way. The donors we recruited were young healthy committed individuals who are prepared to give their time and suffer some slight discomfort for the benefit of others. If you too would like to help and you didn't manage to make the clinic, it's not too late. Please email the charity and we will be very pleased to hear from you email: tomballcharity@aol.com Donors should be aged 18 - 40 and be in good health. The trust are particularly in need of young males and persons from ethnic minorities.
Rock'n'Roll Night	4th May 2007	This was one the the most outstanding events the charity has ever staged. Thanks to the infamous B.17's we were able to raise an amazing £600 towards our appeal. The atmosphere was electric as we were transported back to the 1950's for an evening of fun and nostalgia. The dancing was action packed as the guests jived and twisted the night away. Enormous thanks go out to all our supporters especially Bev Knuckey of JNP Partnership who sold most of the tickets for us. For some fantastic photos of this fun evening visit our Photo Gallery
Spring Sale & Family Fun	14th April 2007	This great fun even raised £235 towards our appeal. We are really grateful to all the helpers who worked so hard to put on a good display and to all the supporters who baked cakes and donated prizes.
Children's Drawing Competition	24th March 2007 (closing date)	Children were asked to design the interior of "The Thomas Ball Room" at the new children's hospital in Oxford. This room is costing £40,000 to complete and the charity still needs to raise money towards this. Please check out this link to find out more about the new hospital Children's Oncology Ward Appeal or this link to donate Just Giving/Children's Oncology Ward, Oxford Here are our six lucky winners in no particular order, who have each won themselves a fine art set. Well done everyone. Emma Brune age 7 who attends Danesfield School in Marlow, Bucks Fiona Gladding age 7 who attends Frieth CEC School in Frieth, Bucks Jamie year 3C at Hamilton Primary School, High Wycombe, Bucks Charlotte Benn age 7 who attends Gt. Missenden C of E Combined School in Gt. Missenden, Bucks Luca Sciaraffa age 8 who attends Burford School in Marlow Bottom, Bucks Hannah Murray age 7 who attends Frieth CEC School in Frieth, Bucks. To see the winning entries and for photos of the new Children's Hospital in Oxford visit our Photo Gallery.
Tom's 18th Birthday Bash	17th March 2007	"Tom's 18th Birthday Bash" raised £1,400 between the raffle and donations. This emotional yet poigniant evening saw friends and supporters of the charity come together for an extra special celebration where a good night was had by all as we remembered Tom. The trustees would like to thank all those kind people who made donations and supported the raffle. For more photos from Tom's 18th go to our photogallery
Eurodisney Trip	14-16th December 2006	The trip to Euro Disney was once again, magical. All eleven families had a great time and the smiles and laughter were sure evidence of this. We were blessed with fine weather for the first two days but not even the rain on the last day could dampen the spirits of the children. For more photos of this fantastic trip, visit our photo gallery. We thank all our supporters who donated towards this special Christmas holiday. The trustees are now hoping to raise some more money so the three disappointed families whose children were unfit to travel on the day, can enjoy this dream holiday when their children are feeling better. Stop press .... see these links with latest news This Is Bucks : Bucks Free Press : Oxford Mail
Race Night	2nd December 2006	This event was extremely well supported and around 75 people enjoyed a flutter on the filmed horse races. The evening had a good atmosphere and we thank our guests for their support and their generosity. We all enjoyed a hot supper and thanks go to Sue Jones and Four Seasons Catering for providing everyone with such a delicious meal. We also thank David Ridgley of Prestwood Farm to Freezer who kindly donated the meat free of charge. Paul Larkin was the man of the night who gave his time freely and put on a really good show with his video equipment. Emily Beach manned a successful tombola throughout the evening and we are very grateful for her help. We also thank Bev & Mike Knuckey for their help with ticket sales and for their support on the night along with Sue and Paul. The total amount raised was £1,300.00, which will be used towards the upkeep and running costs of "Tom's Retreat" and "T.J's" the charity's two holiday homes for sick children.
The Angel Ball	28th October 2006	The Angel Ball was a huge success with £1,500 being raised for vital neuroblastoma research. This rare aggressive cancer claimed the life of our founder, Thomas, when he was just 14 years old. Bereaved parents who had lost a child to this cruel disease were invited to come along and meet others in the same situation. The parents from various parts of the UK brought with them friends and family. We wined and dined and danced into the night, remembering our lost children in a positive way. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable and has already been booked again for next year. many thanks to Savilles Estate Agents in Beaconsfield and Noches Latinas in Marlow Bottom, and Arsenal Football Club for donating such wonderful prizes for the raffle and auction. For more photos of this fantastic evening, visit our photo gallery.
Maggot Racing	28th August 2006	Barrie and June Butler licensees of The Three Horseshoes in Flackwell Heath, High Wycombe have been very busy fundraising for the charity. The couple have a reputation for their unusual hobby which is Maggot racing, yes it's unbelievable but true and a lot of fun. Two race nights and a competition to guess the amount of money in a very large Carlsberg bottle has netted an amazing £1,821.10 towards our appeal. We are very grateful to Barrie and June for all their hard work and we would also like to thank Dave Roadnight who donated the bottle of cash for the competition. The cash was won by a local man "John" who promptly donated the cash back to the charity! Many thanks and well done to all those involved. The trustees look forward to the next maggot race!
Dream Walk	30th June 2006	The "Dream Walk" was really successful on Friday 30th June. The sponsored ten mile walk was to commemorate the third anniversary of Thomas Ball's passing and to raise money for other children suffering from cancer. Fifty seven people turned out at midnight on the fine summer evening to do the walk. It was hard going because most of the people who took part had not done any training and many were not used to walking such a distance. We also had several children who managed to complete the walk. The event was emotional with many people walking to remember lost loved ones and others who were walking in support of people who are fighting a serious illness. Franco the Ball family pet, managed to raise around £700 in sponsorship but the day before the walk he cut his paw and Trevor, Thomas Ball's father was busy bathing the paw to try and heal the wound before the ten mile walk. Luckily Franco and Trevor were able to finish the course and we would welcome any further donations www.justgiving.com/GermanShepherd. The "Dream Walk" was truly a spectacular event with walkers dressed in reflective yellow tabards and armed with torches. The bright procession of people could be seen for miles in the darkness, it was like a string of Christmas lights. Although at midnight there are not too many people about, some walkers were fortunate enough to receive extra donations from the public who were so impressed by their efforts and the cause. So far the charity has collected £2,000 from the event that will be used for local children to enjoy a holiday with their families in Disney Land Resort Paris this Christmas. The trustees are hoping for the total to raise considerably once the walkers have collected in their sponsor money. The much needed holiday will cost the charity around £12,000 more details can be found by visiting our Disney appeal. The evening was rounded off with an early breakfast and all walkers received a certificate. The trustees would like to thank all those who took part in the walk and made donations. For more pictures of the Dream Walk please click here.
Spirit of Prestwood	1st May 2006	The charity stall at the village fete was a success. Although the day was extremely cold the turn out was good and we managed to raise a total of £385.00 for the Disney Appeal. The trustees are very grateful to all local businesses who donated prizes for the May Day Draw and to Richard Yeates owner of the Crossroads Garage in Prestwood for sponsoring the printing.
London Marathon	23rd April 2006	Yvonne Wooster has raised an amazing £3,068.00 in sponsorship for running the Flora London Marathon. We are extremely grateful for all her determination and effort that has made this event a major success and boosted the Disney Appeal for sick children. The trustees are grateful to all those who sponsored Yvonne so generously. Special thanks go out to local businessman Michael Moore who was the main sponsor and to John Lewis High Wycombe for their very generous donation. This is the second time that Yvonne has chosen to support the charity by taking part in this popular event, once again we are overwhelmed with the result, thank you Yvonne.
Tom's Birthday Dance & Draw	24th March 2006	Tom's Birthday Draw & Dance on 24th March at Gt. Missenden Memorial Hall raised a grand total of £1,600. The trustees have decided to add this amount to the Disney Appeal. The evening couldn't have gone better. The band were outstanding and around a hundred guests danced until midnight after enjoying a wonderful buffet supper. The top three prizes in the draw were won by persons attending the event, a full list of winners can be obtained by contacting the charity.
New Year's Eve - Street Collection, High Wycombe	31st December 2005	21 volunteers took part in the street collection on New Year's Eve in the town centre of High Wycombe. We were lucky that the rain had stopped and shoppers were out in full force to find a bargain in the sales. Each volunteer collected donations for a two hour period and the charity are immensely grateful for their dedication and commitment during the busy holiday season. The result was extremely pleasing with just over £1,000.00 raised.
Euro Disney Trip	8th December 2005	The trip to Euro Disney was marvellous. All twelve families who had a child suffering from cancer or leukaemia thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. The weather was cold but the magic of Disney combined with the excitement of Christmas created an energy that helped these children to forget about their difficulties for three wonderful days. For more photos of this fantastic fun day, click here
Angel Ball	22nd October 2005	The "Angel Ball" was hugely successful with families attending from all over the UK. Together we remembered our children who have lost their lives to neuroblastoma and at the same time we managed to raise £1,400.00 towards researching a cure for other children. We all enjoyed a 3 course dinner and danced into the night to the sounds of T.J.'s Discos. Each table was named after an "Angel" child and parents brought with them family & friends. Although an emotional event the charity has decided to make this an annual fundraiser by popular request. The charity would like to thank The Bellhouse Hotel, Beaconsfield for supporting the event and Savills and Ashington Page both in Beaconsfield for donating fine raffle prizes. For more photos of this event, click here
Parachute Jump for Thomas Ball	16th October 2005	Pensioner June Ball, age 73, from Great Missenden has raised around £600.00 from a daring parachute jump. June is Thomas Ball's grandmother and decided to perform the brave sky dive in memory of her grandson and at the same time raise money to benefit other children who are suffering from cancer & leukaemia. June thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we are most grateful for her support.
Race Night & Pig Roast	8th October 2005	The race night was an enormous success, raising almost £900.00! Around 60 people attended and all enjoyed a flutter on the races followed by a superb supper from the pig roast. Many thanks go out to Sue Jones, Paul Larkin and Bev Knuckey for organising this event and working so hard.
The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund Annual Garden Fete	14th August 2005	The Annual Garden Fete was an enormous success in spite of the rain. Around one hundred people attended and an amazing £650 was raised with donations still coming in from supporters who were unable to make the event. A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all, not to be missed next year!
Bounce For Thomas Ball	16th & 17th July 2005	The 24-hour sponsored bounce held at Great Missenden Memorial Hall on 16th July raised well over £1,000 with over 100 people taking part. The "Bounce for Thomas Ball" event held to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of Tom's passing was thought of by Thomas before he died to it was an emotional event with a good response, but only four of his teenage freinds were able to "stand the course" and keep the bouncing going right through the night until fresh legs arrived for the morning shift. Jai Pearce, Ben Woodley, Darrel Leighton and Aaron Beach were definitely the stars of the event and we extend a huge thank you to these young guys. The trampoline for the event was raffled afterwards and won by Bev Knucksey from Prestwood who had herself taken part in the event with her family anf very generously supplied breakfast for the night shift. The 14ft trampoline was very kindly donated by The Entertainer Toy Retailer in Amersham. We are also very grateful to the Great Missenden Memorial Hall committee for supporting the event. For more photos of this great fun event, click here
Penn and Tyler's Green Super Fun Run	18th & 19th June 2005	The Penn & Tylers Green Super Fun Run was an absolutely amazing day with hundreds of people turning out to run and support the event. The weather was hot and the atmosphere electric. We are very grateful to have been the chosen charity of 2005. The total amount raised came to an astonishing £10,500 and was given to the charity at a special Christmas presentation after the village carol service on 22nd December. We thank the committee and all those involved for all their support and hard work. Picture of our Chairman Elaine Ball being presented with the cheque from Ian Barnett on behalf of the Penn & Tylers Green Super Fun Run Committee. For more photos of this great fun event, click here
Tom's Birthday Dance & Draw	18th March 2005	This annual event was held at Great Missenden Memorial Hall. Together the draw and dance raised £1,800.00. This evening proved very successful with approximately one hundred people enjoying the sounds of soul and blues provided by the sensational six-piece band Some Like It Hot.
Murder Mystery Dinner	19th February 2005	One hundred and thirty people attended the Murder Mystery Dinner at the famous Hampden House, which has been the film set for the popular Hammer House of Horrors and the Rocky Horror Show. The dinner was followed by a raffle adn we are grateful to Prestwood Theatre Club for staging the murder throughout the evening. Thanks also to Mr Tim Oliver who allowed us to use the venue free of charge and to Sue and Doreen from Hampden House for organising the event. We would also like to thank Sue Jones and staff for the catering and Paul Larkin for narrating and technical support. £3,200 was raised from this unusual but very thrilling event.
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford	The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund is proud to announce that a new drug room at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford has been opened in memory of Thomas Ball. This major treatment centre for children suffering from cancer and leukaemia was in great need of a new drug room. The trustees of tbccf were delighed to be involved in the exciting transformation of ward 4B and donated the sum of £6,500 to facilitate the refurbishment. Stop Press..... The children's oncology ward moved into the new Oxford Children's Hospital in January 2007, our donation has been transferred to the new ward and has given us a good start towards our appeal, to provide a child/parent room costing £40,000. To donate please visit Just Giving/Childrens Oncology Ward Oxford
THANK YOU!	We would like to say a big Thank You for some large donations we have recently received. Hazlemere Golf Club raised £3,000; the pupils of Misbourne School where Tom was a pupil have raised £2,000; and we received a donation of £1,500 from The John Lewis Partnership.
Christmas 2004	We would also like to thank Gill Weedon, Michael Piggott and Ian Holliman for decorating their houses with Christmas Lights and raising almost £4,000 for the Charity. Hundreds of smaller donations poured in over the Christmas period. We are extremely grateful to all our supporters.
Race Night	13th November 2004	The Race Night was a huge success and £1,000 was raised for the Charity. We would like to thank Sue Jones and Paul Larkin for organising the event.
The Kings Head Public House	2004	On Saturday 18th September, the Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund was presented with a very substantial cheque by the landlord and regulars at the Kings Head Public House in Prestwood, Bucks. The fantastic sum of £4,508.90 was raised throughout the year, from events including a Bungee Jump, calendar sales and many others. We are enormously grateful to Dee and Macolm Eden, licensees, and all the customers who have helped to raise such a magnificent sum.
Pop/Punk Night	11th September 2004	The British Legion in High Wycombe was the venue for this event, organised by Carleigh Bearman of Great Missenden. Everyone involved gave their time free of charge to stage the gig; some of the bands were well-known, experienced musicians, others were performing for the very first time. Carleigh was helped by her father and the gig raised an impressive £1,000 for the Charity.
Caribbean Party	28th August 2004	A great time was had by all and a total of £350 was raised for the Charity.
RainbowBig Bottom	27th August 2004	Children's Entertainer"Rainbow Big Bottom" performed another fun show for the charity on Friday lunchtime 27th August, and raised £150 for the Charity. For more photos click here.
Garden Fete	22nd August 2004	This annual event was conceived by Thomas in 1999 and has been a popular village event every since. We had a fantastic afternoon and raised £400 for the Charity. Thanks to everyone who came and had fun. For more photos of the afternoon click here.
BONE MARROW CLINIC 30th June 2004 To mark the anniversary of Tom's passing, on 30th June, the Charity held a bone marrow donor clinic at Prestwood Junior School, and are proud to have recruited 50 new donors for the Anthony Nolan Trust. The Trust receives 6,000 requests each year to try and find donors for patients all over the world. We are extremely grateful to all those who attended on the evening. Bone marrow transplants can help patients with life threatening diseases such as leukaemia, aplastic anaemia, immune deficiencies, inborn errors of metabolism and other new indications such as breast cancer and auto-immune disorders. It's not too late to join the register and try and save a life. Please contact The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund for details.
The Lion King	20th June 2004	The Charity took a coach party of children with cancer and their families to see The Lion King at London's Lyceum Theatre. The trip was a great success. The coach was full and all children and their families had a day to remember. The show was exciting and vibrant and souvenir gifts were given to all the children. The day finished with tea at Macdonalds. We would like to thank the charity Daytrippers for donating the £2,000.00 that covered the cost of the day. We would also like to thank Danny Ball of Diamond Travel who brought his coach all the way from the Isle of Wight to benefit these sick children and their families. Danny has helped the charity before and we are absolutely humbled to see his dedication and commitment to the charity and the children. Thanks are also given to Wightlink Ferries who arranged for Danny to bring his coach across from the Isle of Wight free of charge. We thank Mr. Chris Quinten for honouring our request.
Great Kingshill Village Fete	5th June 2004	The Charity raised £180 by running a bric-a-brac stall, including various activities for children.
Prestwood 10k Run	16th May 2004	Jane Gibbons ran the Prestwood 10K on Sunday 16th May and raised £100 for the Charity. Jane lives on Kiln Road and has always been very supportive of the Charity as her son was at school with Thomas and they were very good friends. The race started at 11am and was ran throughout Prestwood. Thank you and well done Jane!
Spirit of Prestwood	3rd May 2004	The charity had a bric-a-brac stall at the village fete on Bank Holiday Monday, with a Lucky Dip, Hook-a-Duck game and Guess the Teddy's Birthday for the children. We raised £230.
Bungee Jumping	30th April 2004	Held at the Kings Head public house in Prestwood.
Yvonne runs the London Marathon	18th April 2004	Yvonne Wooster from Prestwood collected £2,375.20 in sponsorship money for the Charity after finished the London Marathon in 3 hours and 43 minutes. Thank you and well done Yvonne!
Street Collection	10th April 2004	The street collection in High Wycombe raised £1,000. Many thanks to all our volunteers.
Tom's Birthday Draw & Dance	20th March 2004	The event, held at Great Kingshill Village Hall, was a great success. We raised £2,600 for the Charity.

You can access more news about tbccf and it's founder, Tom, by going to the Bucks Free Press website and entering "Thomas Ball" in the search facility there.

There are now two ways you can donate directly to the Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund online - through the Charities Aid Foundation website or via PayPal. If you choose to donate through CAF the Government will give us an extra 28p per £1 you donate.