Nicola Corry Support Fund
The Penny Brohn UK Nicola Corry Support Fund gives financial assistance for parents to attend services and support at Penny Brohn UK. Specifically, the fund supports one or both parents of a child under the age of 16 years old, where one or both have themselves had a diagnosis of cancer within the last 3 years.
The Nicola Corry Support Foundation was originally created to help Nicola and her family in her fight against a very rare cancer. Just after giving birth to a son, she needed to have chemotherapy treatment. The challenge of coping and caring for Alfie as well as enduring aggressive chemotherapy was so immense for her family that her friends rallied round and created a fund to help her family provide childcare at a nursery for Alfie.
Photos provided by Nicola’s family.
When Nicola sadly passed away on 23rd May 2005, her family and friends were determined to achieve some positive out of this tragedy – as the English author Leigh Hunt (1784 – 1859) wrote:
“Whenever evil befalls us, we ought to ask ourselves, after the first suffering, how we can turn it into good. So shall we take occasion, from one bitter root, to raise perhaps many flowers.”
The History of the Nicola Corry Support Foundation
In June 2006, the fund became the Nicola Corry Support Foundation (NCSF).
NCSF was a registered charity whose main purpose was to provide financial support to families where a parent had cancer. The foundation did this by providing grants in a number of ways:
- Covered childcare costs whilst the parent was undergoing treatment and recovery, e.g: nursery fees, breakfast and after school clubs
- Contribute towards transport costs for treatment
- Fund short breaks for families to have quality time together
- Additional expenses to support the family, eg: specialist counselling, kitchen appliances, household bills
During it’s time as a registered charity it helped hundreds of families with young children and provided over £300,000 in grants towards financial support for childcare, transport and family breaks.
The Penny Brohn UK Nicola Corry Support Fund
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on small grassroots charities and operating with a very small group of volunteers made it challenging for the foundation to continue as an independent charity. When an opportunity arose to establish a restricted fund with Penny Brohn UK, the trustees felt this was the best way to take Nicola’s legacy into the future.
We hope that this newly created restricted fund can continue to support families affected by cancer. The fund will support one or both parents of a child under the age of 16 years old, where one or both have themselves had a diagnosis of cancer within the last 3 years, and where financial assistance is required for them to attend services and support at Penny Brohn UK.
