Meet the Thuraisingham Family: How Solving Kids’ Cancer UK’s Supporters Make a Difference
At Solving Kids’ Cancer UK, we know first-hand the devastating impact neuroblastoma has on families. As a charity with children and their families firmly at our heart, we have parents who’ve been affected by neuroblastoma embedded at every level. Together, we are committed to creating a future where no child dies of neuroblastoma or suffers due to the treatment they receive.
We initiate and fund pioneering and best-in-class clinical research to save lives and improve outcomes for children, while providing support, guidance, and hope to families throughout their cancer journey.
The importance of community for small charities
Neuroblastoma is an aggressive and complex cancer most common in children under five. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of this disease unless they have been directly impacted, which is why the neuroblastoma community plays such a crucial role in raising awareness and generating much-needed funds for research and support. From our passionate staff team and committed Board members to our valued Ambassadors, supporters, and fundraisers, this community is vital in helping us extend our reach and to identify new opportunities that will not only increase awareness of neuroblastoma but also inspire more people to get involved and fundraise.
Meet the Thuraisingham family
The incredible support Solving Kids’ Cancer UK receives from the neuroblastoma community is demonstrated by the Thuraisingham family, whose commitment over the last 4 years has made a real impact on our work. We first met parents Iulia and Padmesh in 2019 when their daughter, Odile, was diagnosed with low-risk neuroblastoma at just 3 weeks old. We supported Iulia and Padmesh in those scary and difficult early weeks and months when they had to face a great deal of uncertainty and difficult decision-making around their daughter’s health.
In the summer of 2020, with Odile doing really well, Iulia signed up to our Ambassador Programme. Our ambassadors are an extension of our small team – helping to raise awareness of neuroblastoma and our work, as well as the funds and goodwill needed so we can go further in our efforts to improve the outcomes for children with this disease.
"We received a lot of support from Solving Kids’ Cancer UK as a family, but it wasn’t until Odile was doing much better that I decided I wanted to get more involved and give something back. I want to support other parents to have access to all the information from the point of diagnosis."
Iulia
Iulia works for Google, who have a strong commitment to volunteering and supporting the charity sector. Within her role she introduced the charity to the incredible EMEA Business Strategy & Operations team who supported us with weekly meetings to help determine how best we could utilise their skills. The team and other Google volunteers came together to support us with two in person strategy days, where we focussed on three key challenging areas of our work. These types of introductions and opportunities, often reserved for bigger charities with larger platforms, are only made possible because of dedicated ambassadors like Iulia.
Iulia’s husband, Padmesh, has also become a committed supporter of the charity, having joined our newly formed Development Board. As a founding member of the Board, Padmesh will play a key role in supporting the charity’s growth by focusing on high-level fundraising and strengthening our corporate connections.
Padmesh currently heads technology for the Capital Markets division of JLL, one of the global leaders in commercial real estate. With a background in technology, data and analytics, he brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our Development Board, which will greatly benefit both the Board’s activities and the charity.
Padmesh spoke of his experience with the charity, adding: "Our family received fantastic support, encouragement and guidance from SKC since we were first told our daughter Odi had neuroblastoma. We were incredibly worried and didn’t know anything about the disease or which medical advice to follow. So, we are very grateful for everything SKC did for us and are proud to support the charity in its mission.
"We have seen the impact that this terrible disease and the effects of treatment can have on children and their families but are encouraged by the tremendous work SKC is doing to combat neuroblastoma and the difference it is making."