Experiences Stories

On Monday 18th February 2013 3 teenagers from Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge had the time of their lives meeting their idol- TOWIE's Amy Child's at her salon in Essex.

Avid fans of the show Stef, Sapphire & Alison and their family travelled by limo from their homes to the stars salon. The day was filled with meeting the star herself, having beauty treatments from Amy and her staff and enjoying some of the wonderful presents and gifts.

Tears, laughter and hugs and of course a few words of "gorg" were exchanged with the girls which added to the day. Amy spent some quality time with each of the girls talking to them as if they were best friends. They shared stories and had a good ole laugh.....something at Joshua's Wish we encourage with all the experiences we arrange.

Not only did the girls meet Amy Child's but co star Harry Derbidge who popped along to the salon to say "Hello".

After spending a few hours with Amy it was time to move on for a late lunch. The limos arrived at the salon to pick up Stef, Alison and Sapphire and take them for lunch at Pizza Express in Brentwood, Essex. Everybody loves Pizza!!!

Whilst exchanging stories of the day, re looking at pictures it was time to reflect on how amazing the day had gone. So many lives had changed in one day- something which I know none of the girls will ever forget!

Thank you so much to Amy Child's and her team for changing so many lives.
Thank you to Deanne from Essex Candy Cart for such wonderful gifts and presents.

and thank you to all those who provided a lovely gift for the girls to take away.....this was the real icing on the cake.

On Saturday 26th January 2013, we crowned our first ever Miss Cymru International and Miss Teen International Cymru 2013 at the Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl.

The crown and title of ‘Miss Cymru International 2013’ went to Claire- Louise Catterall. Clair, who travelled from her hometown of Deeside for the pageant is 24 years of age. She will now not only have the chance to compete for the title of Miss International GB, at the Miss International GB final taking place on 20th April 2013 at The Pavilion, Winter Gardens, Blackpool, but she will also be travelling to Chicago in July to compete at the fantastic Miss International. Miss International will see Claire compete with other crowned girls from all over the world for the highly acclaimed Miss International title.

The crown and title of ‘Miss Teen International Cymru 2013’ went to Sophie Vijay who is 17 years old and from Ammanford. She will now have the chance to compete for the title of Miss Teen International Great Britain, at the Miss Teen International Great Britain final, again taking place on 20th April 2013 at The Pavilion, Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

As well as all of this, Claire and Sophie have also become ambassadors for the Joshua Foundation. Having all ready raised a fantastic amount of money during the run up to Miss Cymru International 2013, the girls will continue to work with the charity throughout the year raising awareness for the charity across Wales.

Claire and Sophie were chosen by a panel of judges, made up of current and former Beauty queens as well as an ambassador of the Joshua Foundation. The judges were: Jasmine Milano (Chair Judge, Miss International GB 2012), Courtenay Hamilton (Miss Wales 2010), Lisa Lazarus (Miss Universe GB 2008), Beverley Roberts (Miss Wales International 2012) and Adrian Cornelius (Official Ambassador of The Joshua Foundation).

All the finalists who took part in the final worked extremely hard to raise money and the final total raised was an amazing £6500.

We were extremely excited and privileged to be joined by Ellie Jones and her family at the Miss Cymru International and Miss Teen International Cymru Final on Saturday 26th January. Ellie is aged 10 and from Barry in South Wales and a patient from the University of Wales, Children’s Hospital.

Ellie and her family were picked up at 3pm on Saturday by limousine and treated to lunch at Frankie & Benny’s, Cardiff Bay. They were then whisked away, again by limousine and taken to enjoy the rest of their day at the final of Miss Cymru International and Miss Teen International Cymru, at the Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl.

After watching all the girls in their beautiful dresses, Ellie took to the stage with our current Miss International GB 2012, Jasmine Milano and Miss Wales International 2012, Beverley Roberts. She helped present the flowers and crown to our overall Miss Cymru International and Miss Teen International Cymru Winners.

We would like to say a very big thank you to Ellie and her family for joining us at the final, it made the event extra special. Thank you Ellie.

Thank you to all the finalists who took part in the pageant. We have loved working with each and every one of you.

Other winners included:

Miss Cymru International 1st Runner Up- Stephanie Lubbock
Miss Cymru International 2nd Runner Up- Amie Myhill
Miss Cymru International 3rd Runner Up- Eloise Witcombe
Miss Cymru International Charity- Laura Thomas
Miss Cymru International Charity 1st Runner Up- Eloise Witcombe
Miss Cymru International Charity 2nd Runner Up- Claire Louise Catterall
Miss Cymru International Popularity- Janthia Morgan
Miss Cymru International Popularity 1st Runner Up- Lara Stephen
Miss Cymru International Popularity 2nd Runner Up- Hollie- Ann Whittaker
Miss Teen International Cymru Charity- Sophie Vijay
Miss Teen International Cymru Popularity- Charlotte Williams.

In December 2012 and in January 2013, the Joshua Foundation made it possible for 2 young ladies and their friends to travel in style, have a lovely dinner, watch a fantastic concert and meet the man himself- Peter Andre.

One young lady from the Children's Hospital for Wales and her best friend had the time of their lives watching Peter perform on tour at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff. They arrived in Cardiff by limo, had dinner at Jamie Oliver's Restaurant and had the chance to not only watch Peter perform on stage but to meet him in a private meet and greet. Such a magical night for those 2 ladies!!

Another young lady from Nottingham Children's Hospital and her family/friends had their life changing experience at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham. They once again managed to see Peter perform on stage as well as meet the man himself in a private meet and greet. Once again they arrived in Nottingham by limo and had dinner at Bella Italia.

Both of these ladies were from different parts of the UK, however they had something in common--- they had the chance to make their dreams come true!!

Thank you to Peter Andre for changing the lives of these young ladies!

This Christmas we sent some families from the Royal Marsden Children's Hospital to Lapland for the day to meet the man himself...Santa Claus.

The families were escorted by Ambassador of the Joshua Foundation & Miss International GB 2012, Jasmine Milano. Jasmine wanted to share her's and the families experience:-

"On the 18th December, 2012 one of the most magical days came true for some families as they were going to Lapland which had been organised by The Joshua Foundation. It was one of the most inspiration days for me as I spent the day with some truly wonderful families.

We arrived at Santa's winter wonderland and went straight down for a husky ride, snow mobiling and a sleigh ride where we found Santa in his house. As well as presents he also gave us a marshmallow on a stick to toast in his fire.

After that we headed back up to the hut where we had dinner and a look around the gift shop. The last part of the activities consisted of tobogganing and a reindeer ride but we didn't see Rudolph because he was working, unfortunately because it was dark they needed to use his nose to see where they were going.

Finally we all had a massive snow fight before jumping on the coach to drop off our thermals and spend the last of our money on teddies at the airport.

Seeing the children's faces after they met Santa is something I'll never forget, it shows what an amazing charity we are and I got to see the results first hand :-)"

On Sunday 16th December 2012, our annual "Breakfast with Santa" event took place at the glorious surroundings of The Coal Exchange in Cardiff Bay.

24 families attended our breakfast with the man himself-Santa Claus who made a very special visit for us at such a busy time of year for him.

Families arrived at the venue to be greeted by Santa's elves who escorted the families to their tables. The room and tables were decorated to perfection courtesy of WOW Event Hire. The room was filled with festive colours, giant sized candy canes, huge Christmas trees, jars of sweets on each table, fake snow, huge glitzy stars, Santa's throne and much much more. The room was like Santa's workshop- so much happiness and joy!

We had a very special guest from Hamley's Toy Shop- only Mr Hamley Bear himself. He arrived with 2 elves and brought toys by the dozen from the shop itself. Our families had the best time ever enjoying the toys and gadgets from Hamley's toy store. Just as more families started to arrive 5 members from UK Garrison arrived in their Stars Wars gear. Once again the room was filled with Star Wars characters, toys, fun and laughter. Families had the chance to have their faces painted by Funtastic Parties who once again provided the high class entertainment. This included a festive puppet show, bubble machines, disco and games.

Just as the room started getting busier another special guest arrived......Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean!!! Not only did we have Mr Hamely Bear, elves, Star Wars Characters BUT NOW….Jack Sparrow. It was such a magical atmosphere…the children didn’t know which way to look……it certainly was a magical wonderland!!

At around 10.45am it was time for that all important meal…..Breakfast time!! Everyone had one big breakfast. After breakfast it was time for more dancing, puppet shows and having those important pictures with some of our special guests. We arranged for each family to have a family portrait to take home provided by the wonderful Lee Dare. We wanted our families to have something to take home and frame….memories!

At around 12pm the music kicked off and everyone knew who had just landed on the roof of the Coal Exchange!! SANTA!!!!!!!!! Santa walked through the doors with his elves and guest of honour Miss International GB, Jasmine Milano. Santa headed straight to his grotto ready for each child to have their special moment with Santa. The red carpet was ready and Santa had his arms wide open for that special cuddle and to hear what each child wanted for Christmas. Santa gave each child a gift which included a Thornton’s festive chocolate box.

After their visit with Santa families had the chance to dance, have balloons modeled, eat sweets, play with Jack Sparrow and the Stars Wars characters before it was time to go home at 1pm. We couldn’t let our families go home without another present which included a limited edition Hamley’s Bear and handful of Hamley’s sweets.

It was such a wonderful day. We are so thankful to WOW Event Hire, Cresta Caterers, Lee Dare, Hamleys, The Coal Exchange and Funtastic Parties. You helped us create such a magical experience.

We want to wish everyone a Wonderful Christmas and we look forward to next year’s event.

On 25th October, 2012 The The Joshua Foundation held their annual Halloween Party at Caerphilly Castle.

The evening brought 20 families from across Wales to the iconic and spooky Caerphilly Castle.

Families were met by none other than Jack Sparrow and Star Wars Storm troopers as well as Miss Great Britain International 2012 Jasmine Milano, Miss Wales 2010 Courtenay Hamilton and staff members from the Joshua Foundation. Families received a spooky quiz and the chance to win some fab prizes in the evenings raffle draw.

Tables were themed and ranged from Wizard to Pumpkin Head and thanks to the wonderful selection sweets donated by Kingdom Sweets, families had bowls full of sweets. It was like a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

During the evening Funtastic Parties arranged a fabulous ghostly disco with music from Harry Potter and a Nightmare before Xmas. They held a wonderful Scooby Doo puppet Show and made sure everyone had a balloon model and everyones faces were painted. At the same time Wayne provided wonderful family portraits for each family to capture those special momments.

Once again Cresta Caterers brought a scrummy Hog Roast with all the fillings and more importantly those sweet bowls provided a fabulous dessert.

The evening was full of smiles, laughter and fun and many little girls wanted to be Miss Great Britain International for minute. Our very own Jasmine Milano made sure those little girls had the chance to try her crown and sash and become a special beauty queen.

We want to thank everyone who made the night a true experience. Thanks to Funtastic Parties, Cresta Caterers, Wayne from Mountain Ash Studio, Jack Sparrow, UK Garrison, Caerphilly Castle and the wonderful Kingdom of Sweets.

Here is to next years!!

The BAFTA Cymru Awards 2012

Sunday 30th September, 2014 saw the 4 teenagers and their friends from the Teenage Cancer Unit, get all glammed up in their best dresses and suits ready to head to the BAFTA Cymru Awards 2012.

Travelling in style by Limo the, teenagers arrived at the Welsh Millenium Centre and were met by representatives of the Joshua Foundation. They were swept off for a beautiful 3 course Italian meal in Cardiff Bay before they walked the red carpet in style with all press and cameras snapping away.

After sipping a glass of Tattinger champagne in a sponsored reception and lots of star spotting we headed to watch the awards which were hosted by Alex Jones from the One Show.

The Awards were fantastic and made us all feel so special, a huge thank you to BAFTA Cymru for inviting us along and giving our teenagers the full VIP treatment. It was a truly amazing evening!!!!

Jake spent his 15th birthday in Disneyland Paris on 26th June, 2012.

He and his family had a truly magical time away. From travelling by Eurostar to having breakfast with Mickey and Minnie- he really experienced the magic that is Disney.

TJF were very happy to hear from Jake when he returned and this is what we received:-

"I would like to say thank you for my trip to disney,it was a big surprise when mum and dad told me the day before we went.I really enjoyed the rides and went on most of them twice. I also really enjoyed going on the Eurostar.
Having Breakfast with all the disney characters was a great birthday surprise. I also enjoyed having a birthday meal in planet hollywood. Again, thank you for an amazing birthday trip."

TJF are so pleased Jake and his family experiences a truly magical few days away and especially for Jake's Birthday.

Much love xx

A teenager fighting cancer took time out from his treatment last month to meet his England rugby heroes at Twickenham.

Seventeen-year-old Niall Mellis from Camerton, near Bath, who is a self confessed rugby fanatic, was a special guest at the RBS Six Nations clash between England and Ireland.

The treat for the youngster – who was diagnosed last September with Non Rhabdoid Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcoma – was organised by children’s charity The Joshua Foundation and The Rugby Football Union.

Niall, a Year 12 pupil at Wells Cathedral School, is now concentrating on his treatment at Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Before being diagnosed, he was a keen player himself starting as hooker for Under 16s at Wells Cathedral School, Wells Rugby Club and the district of South Somerset.

Dad, Graeme, accompanied Niall to the game along with his older brother, Callum aged 22, and his fiancé, Beth.

Graeme said: “After the game, the England coaching staff all stopped and had a chat with Niall. Graham Rowntree, the team’s forwards coach, and a real front row legend, gave Niall his England jacket. After this Niall met and chatted with 18 of the players all of whom had a word and signed his England shirt. They all knew who Niall was and took an interest in him which was great.”

He added: “Niall is going through an incredibly difficult time and the lift that the team gave him was truly invaluable. I would like to pass on my thanks and heartfelt appreciation to everyone who took the time out to make Niall’s day extra special.”


Niall said: “It was a great day, I really enjoyed it. It was a fantastic experience which provided a very welcome break from my treatment and great memories too look back on when times are hard!”

Ben Cornelius-Price for The Joshua Foundation arranged the afternoon. As well as organising tickets to the game with the RFU, the charity sent a stretch limo to chauffeur him to and from the stadium.

Ben said: “We are really pleased Niall had such a good day. As a big England fan, we understand he was pleased with the 30 – 9 victory too, so a good day all round.”

A group of the Ospreys rugby squad visited the UW Children’s Hospital , meeting with children and their families in Sky Ward and in the Teenage Cancer Unit. Six players led by Barry Davies , met with a number of patients and presented them with ‘Ospreys goody-bags’ and posed for photographs with patients & family members… as well as signing autographs and rugby balls.
Families involved included the Lewis family (Morgan) , the Thomas family (Connor) and Bodonia family (Stephen)
[ Squad members present: Barry Davies, Jack Jones, Dan Baker, Matthew Torrance, Tom Habberfield + Luke Morgan ]

The Elfwood family have just come back from a luxury few days away in Legoland Windsor. They stayed at the brand spanking new Leogland Resort and enjoyed days in the park.

Here are some pictures and feedback from Alison Elfwood:-

"We have just come back from a three day trip to Legoland courtesy of The Joshua Foundation and we can't thank them enough; we had a tremendous time. We were staying in the brand spanking new Legoland hotel and what a treat that was; a smoke breathing dragon actually met us at the entrance! We had an Adventure room (like Indiana Jones) and there was a treasure chest; we had to find the answers to the clues to unlock it (which we did) and receive a prize. Every detail had been thought of in the room and it was all accessible to the little ones, including the small person peep hole in the door.

The park was fantastic, we had a priority stamp, so no queueing. Elliot's favourite rides were the Squid runner, Lazer shooting and the Lego Driving school (where he received his special driving licence). The girls liked the Balloon ride, the Atlantis Submarine and the Dragon's Apprentice ride. One of the best features was the Imagination Theatre where we saw two of the 4D films. They were absolutely fantastic, with spiders crawling out of the screen and a dragon sneezing on us...and yes, we did get wet!!

We are so grateful to the Joshua Foundation and all the lovely staff that work there, especially Ben Cornelius-Price, who made this trip possible. They made three young people very happy, not to mention two bigger people. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you so much for being so kind to my family, the extra spending money you gave us really helped and we bought the kids some lovely pressies. Thank you Ben from the bottom of my heart.

With fondest regards, Alison Elfwood"

What a truly wonderful story- this did bring many smiles to our day! Thank you so much to all our supporters!

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny was held at Llandarcy Sports Academy and was hosted by The Ospreys. Families arrived bright and early and were quickly joined by the team who signed balls and photographs and had their pictures taken before taking the children down to the pitch and having a kick around.

The wonderful Easter Bunny himself arrived and joined in with a few races too! There were an Easter egg hunt, face painters ready for those special designs and of course balloon models and then before we knew it, it was time for Breakfast.

We all followed the rabbit of the moment to the main building and some of the players came too. Plates were full of bacon, sausages, egg and beans and some wonderful balloon hats and characters were made. The music and games started, all the while faces were being painted and for some, the sports out on the field continued (a couple of the boys even managed to have a little lesson in passing from one of the top players!).

The family and our annual Easter raffle were drawn and there was plenty of chocolate to go around.

All in all, it was a great morning - so a big thanks to everybody who attended.

We’d like to give a special mention to all at Llandarcy Sports academy, The Ospreys, Sunflower Entertainment and Shadow Discos and Antur. We hope you all had a very happy Easter indeed.

JORDAN OKELLO’S TRIP TO HURGHADA, EGYPT

Hello everyone, my name is Jordan and I am 7 years old. I have always been a happy, smiley boy until I was unfortunately diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on the 27th of June 2008.As you can imagine, I was not too happy about it and my family was greatly devastated. Going through the very harsh treatment I needed friends who cared and most definitely strangers too, kind enough to make some of my dreams come true; ones for a moment, that could make me smile and momentarily forget the pain, and remember the kindness of others too, such is the Joshua foundation. Now for my very happy memorable story!


MY TRIP TO HURGHADA, EGYPT, (by the red sea), 16TH-23RD DECEMBER 2011


I am indeed glad to share the dream that the Joshua foundation helped to make come true.
The Joshua foundation sponsored my holiday together with my family, to Hurghada Egypt, which I must say is by the red sea, a very beautiful sight indeed! Leaving our house for the airport at six in the morning was very exciting as I had never been to an airport, sooooo many people, wowzersssss! And now what can I say about the aeroplane,never been in one, and my oh my ,taking off and landing I could do that all day!!!!!!!

Now our trip from Hurghada airport to jasmine village resort was something out of a fantasy adventure, at night in a shuttle bus, the reflection of the street lighting on the most golden sand I had ever seen, words can not describe. The resort was perfect, and they did not forget it was Christmas with a Santa by the door to welcome us, what a Christmas spirit. I had a chance to choose the most warmest and spacious bed in the room.

Now for the rest of the trip, talk about good weather, I mean 25 degrees, a chill out by the sea side, splashing and building sand castles, trips to the old town of Hurghada where we saw the oldest mosque in Hurghada, Coptic church, ship building site and the most famous perfumery(mum could not resist buying a bottle).We did not forget to visit the antique shops, I had studied about Egypt and got a chance to see the antique pieces of the famous queen Nefertiti, the pharaoh Tutankhamen, I and my family were given a short lesson on making papyrus(writing material for the ancient Egyptians), bought some too! I enjoyed one of my most favorite activity of all time, driving mini quad bikes, how cool is that????

That is not all, I got to eat all sorts of food I had never eaten before in my life, it was absolutely, fantastically, wonderfully delicious!!!!!!! I even got to go to disco (for both adults and children mind you), and danced the nights away.

But most important of all, I got to make many friends in the one week in Egypt, it was amazing, friends from Hurghada and Russia and germany, I was truly grateful; even learnt to say thank you in Arabic-shokoran and in Russian-spaciba and sadly to say bye in Russian-paka paka.

I am a little boy that got to see the world(Egypt),with the most loving people I know(my family),but that was because someone cared enough to make my dream come true, because someone was kind enough to give me a break(in every sense of the word), because someone thought I deserved it, that someone is Joshua foundation, I and my family are sincerely grateful, even if I was sad to leave Egypt I will forever treasure the memories of the happiness and smile it brought to my life, thank you very much to Joshua foundation and god bless you tremendously.

Sunday 18th December, 2011 saw 120 guests at our annual festive Breakfast with Santa at the Coal Exchange. Families from the Teenage Cancer Unit and Children's Hospital enjoyed an all you can eat full cooked breakfast, sweets galore, games, dancing and meeting the very man himself....Santa who came with his elfs for a very special visit.

The day was so much fun and we want to thank WOW Events who made the decorations and created a wonderland spectacular, the Coal Exchange and Cresta Caterers.

Wonderful way to end the year!!!

Sunday 6th November, 2011 saw the grand final of Miss World in London to mark 60 years of such an incredible competition.

Neve and her family went along to the final to support Sara Manchipp, Miss Wales 2011. Only a couple of weeks before Neve traveled in style with Sara and had a magical day in London before Sara went to compete in Miss World.

All of Neve's family traveled in style by limo with Official Ambassadors Pat & Adrian Cornelius from the charity. After a stop at TGI Friday's in Reading they were ready for an afternoon of glamour.


A truly magical Princess day for Neve!!!

“Following The Yellow Brick Road” for a Magical Experience


Sunday, October 30th, 2011, was a truly “wizardry” day for two families from South Wales. Not only did they meet Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz, but they had plenty to smile about at Planet Hollywood, Leicester Square, London!

The Bragg family & The Owen family were escorted by representatives from The Joshua Foundation (Ray & Trisha Price) in first class seats on the train to London, Paddington. 4 very excited children & their mums, dad & grandma couldn’t wait to visit the Land of The Munchkins but there was another surprise in store first – lunch at Planet Hollywood! Ghoulish decorations and many original movie props including Daleks & Batman costumes were there to welcome them before eating as much as they could from the fabulous menu! Full tummies meant it was then time to catch those famous London Taxis to get to the London Palladium in plenty of time.

The seats couldn’t be better! Front row in the Royal Circle proved to be the best ever – especially when the Wicked Witch of the West flew down from the ceiling on her broomstick right to where we were sitting! What a shock! What an amazing experience! Words cannot describe the wonder and joy on the faces of our families! When the Witch spoke to them – well – even the grown-ups were scared!

After a fabulous show – AND we sang along to all of the songs – it only got better! The stars of the show – Sophie Evans (a fabulous supporter of TJF) who played Dorothy (might I say, one of the best Dorothy’s I have seen) and Michael Crawford (yes – Bettyyyyyy!) who played The Wizard of Oz and many other characters, were there to meet our families on the steps of the Palladium. They posed with them and signed autographs, chatting away like old friends. What a remarkable end to a lovely afternoon. Many thanks to Sophie for organising this special meeting with her and Michael.

Tired but still dazed, we found ourselves again at Paddington and on the train back home, remembering our trip to the Land of Oz, the Tin Man, The Scarecrow, the Scaredy Lion and not forgetting Toto! It was definitely NOT a dream – we were there – and we have Dorothy’s words to prove it!

The Joshua Foundation once again had a wonderful time celebrating Halloween at Caerphilly Castle where ghosts were hovering in the air and a full hog was roasting, ready to welcome 120 guests.
The great hall was a sight to behold thanks to our friends at Wow Events but the real treats were the costumes! All the children and teenagers, as well as their family and friends had made a special effort for the occasion and prizes were awarded by Miss Caerphilly herself.
Much fun was had with dancing, balloon modelling and a chocolate fountain so a big thank you to all who came and all the fundraisers who made it possible, keep up the good work!

The USA Experience will be flying with Virgin Atlantic on July 26th, 2012 arriving back n the UK on August 9th, 2012.

The Oz Experience 2012 trip will be flying with Quantas and will be leaving on June 30th, 2012 with a stop over in Singapore and arriving back in the UK on July 16th, 2012.

William and his family enjoyed their lovely holiday in the charities own caravan in Kiln Park....

Please read the letter we have had and the fab pics!!

Joana and her mum attended a live show of Popstars to Operastars on July 3rd, 2011 in London.

They traveled in style- First Class by train to London and stayed at the luxury H10 Hotel, Waterloo.

They had some of the best seats in the house and enjoyed a night of music.

Joana said "We had an amazing time and wanted to THANK YOU once again for providing us with a brilliant experience..
Thank you Ben,Sarah,Pat & Adrian that work so hard to make us feel good...=o)...
Luv,Jo & Mum Maria"

Press article from the Nottingham Evening Post...

"A TEENAGE girl who has cancer felt like "a true princess" when she was taken to her prom in a horse-drawn carriage.

Abbie Sims, 16, of Hucknall, was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of seven and has been through nine operations, numerous blood transfusions and chemotherapy over the years.Children's cancer charity, the Joshua Foundation, paid for a horse-drawn carriage to take Abbie and her two best friends, Helen Dearden and Sarah Witton, both 16 and pupils at Holgate School, to their school's end-of-year prom in the city centre.

"I felt like a true princess," Abbie said. "Children near the car park, where we were picked up, waved goodbye to me and the horses.

"I had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect.

"I would like to thank the Joshua Foundation for this lovely event and also the teachers for organising the prom."

As well as organising the horse and carriage, the foundation paid for Abbie to enjoy a shopping trip to Cardiff where she chose a bright red prom dress.

As part of the weekend, Abbie, her mum Mandy, 45, and dad Richard, 46, spent two nights at a hotel and enjoyed dinner at Cardiff Castle. For Mrs Sims the prom, at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Wollaton Street, marked another milestone in Abbie's life.

She said: "Abbie is an inspiration to me. She is gentle, kind and caring and never complains.

"I know she is mine, but she really is a lovely girl."

Sarah Cornelius-Price, president of the Joshua Foundation, said: "The idea of a prom is to celebrate the achievements of young people as they finish their schooling.

"I think it is safe to say that Abbie has faced more than most people of her age. I hope she had a wonderful evening."

Abbie was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2002.

She had surgery followed by 14 months of chemotherapy, as well as other operations.

In 2009 a scan revealed the tumour had returned and spread to other parts of her brain.

Although surgery removed a large part of the tumour, Abbie now struggles with her memory and cannot see out of her left eye.

Despite missing a lot of school while she was in and out of hospital, Abbie took her English GCSE a year early and got a B, which she is retaking this year to get an A along with nine other subjects.

"She is very determined," Mrs Sims said. "She works very hard and her teachers have been fabulous."

Sunday 26th June, 2011 saw a wonderful family experience at the Polo in Cardiff Castle.

4 families from the Welsh Oncology Unit joined the TJF team as VIP guests for a day of lavish sun and hospitality.

TJF had their very own private "pod" and enjoyed a wonderful lunch and afternoon tea before watching some spectacular polo matches.

We were very honoured to have some very special guests and friends; Alesha Dixon Dixon and Over the Rainbow's Sophie Evans. Both support the charity and really helped us change the lives of children and their families that day.

A truly incredible day...very hot weather but gorgeous....

We raised over £2000 on the day which will help us change further children's lives.

Wanted to thank Victoria and her team at Fushion for adopting the charity and providing such an incredible event.

Sunday 29th May, 2011 saw 4 teenagers and their family friends from the Teenage Cancer Unit join the TJF team for a very special VIP evening at the BAFTA Cymru Awards 2011. The incredible event took place at the WMC, Cardiff Bay where our guests were greeted by TV and the famous Red Carpet.

After a wonderful champagne reception hosted by Tattinger Champagne we took our seats ready for the evenings events.

The entire event was once again an honour to go too. We personally want to thank the lovely Lisa Nesbitt, Director of BAFTA Cymru for once again helping us provide this incredible experience.

Our guests were very fortunate enough to me one of our supporters- Dorothy from Wizard of Oz- Sophie Evans as well as a star from Casualty, Lucy Owen and Roddri Owen from BBC Wales and many more guests.

Superb evening and more importantly life changing!

A group of young people from the Teenage Cancer Unit at University College Hospital, Cardiff
visited the opera at the Millenium Centre to see Puccini's "Turandot" by the Welsh National Opera

The group were escorted by representatives of the Joshua Foundation ( Pat & Adrian Cornelius)
spending some time backstage viewing the stage sets before the performance, and again visiting
with the principal singers after the show. The visit was arranged via Rebecca Evans ( singing the part of Liu ),
who introduced the group to Anna Shajinskaia (Turandot), Gwyn Hughes Jones (Calaf), and Philip lloyd Holtam (Pang)

All the young people thoroughly enjoyed both the performance, and the special visits back-stage to speak with
members of the cast.

A little message from Abbie and her family from a recent experience....

"Abbie, Rick and I have had the BEST weekend! The rooms were amazing, the morning in the dress shop was a real treat and Abbie absolutly loves her dress. We went back to the hotel after we left you to have a drink and drop the dress off then we went into town to do abit of shopping and spend Abbie's vouchers, again a lovely surprise. We went back to the hotel again after lunch (so easy with it being so close to everything) and Abbie fell asleep, had to wake her to get ready for our night out!
We enjoyed to castle and the wonderful food, the pud was as nice as it sounded. The entertainment and the company were great and Rick even got to 'clog dance', yes I know you needed to be there!
Can you thank the lovely lady at the Dresstop for her kindness and patience and her very thoughtful gift.
On the Sunday, after another very big breakfast, we had a lovely walk down to the Waterfront (remembered not the docks), before heading home.
You know better than most how hard life can be but I find the kindness shown to us all so uplifting from yourselves for organising such a fantastic break for all of us to have fun together, to everyone that put themselves through so much to raise the funds to be able for you to be able to do such wonderful things.
Thank you from all of us we do truely appreciate what you have done for us and the memory of the weekend will remain with us forever and we can't wait to see her off to her Prom in an amazing dress! Love from Mandy, Rick and Abbie xxx"

On May 1st, 2011 Hattie and her mum Mary joined the TJF team at the Miss UniverseGB 2011 Final in Birmingham.

Hattie and her mum arrived to the Malmaison Hotel by stretch limousine and for dinner before the event. Hattie particularly enjoyed those luxury fish fingers!!!! After dinner we all made our way by limousine to the ICC, Birmingham for the evenings event!

After attending the VIP drinks reception we were all ready to find out who will become Miss UniverseGB 2011.

Hattie was invited to present flowers to each of the winners and was adored by everyone in the room!!

She was a beautiful Beauty Queen like all the other finalists that evening!!

Just before leaving the event TJF presented Hattie with a deluxe box of treats from Harvey Nichols and a bottle of champagne for mum!!!

What a truly life changing evening!! A evening we will never forget and I know an evening Hattie and mum Mary won't forget either!!

Good Friday 2011 saw 17 families join us for this years Breakfast with Easter Bunny organised by the Ospreys Rugby Team!!

The day was full of chocolates, happy faces and of course that all important Easter Bunny!!!

Families were greeted at the Llandarcy Academy by the Ospreys Team and joined them for a full english breakfast!! Our special guest, Mr Bunny joined us later on ready to take us all to the party!!!

One word can be said.....CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yes....a mountain of Chocolate eggs were waiting as well as Mel and her disco to get the party started!!

The Ospreys took everyone outside to show off their Rugby skills and teach us all a thing or two about the game!!! Even Mr Bunny got involved!!!

What an incredible day of laughter, big smiles and Fun!! Incredible experience and we cannot thank everyone at Ospreys enough especially Dani!!!!

Here is to next years!!!!

On Saturday 23rd April 2011, Tom Diamond and family will be special guests at the Cardiff v QPR football game at the Leckwith Stadium. Tom will be hosted at the event along with another family by Redrow homes and will be enjoying hospitality pre the game in the Redrow VIP box. Tom joined the Joshua Foundation at the old Cardiff City ground where there is now a brand new Redrow development for a picture shoot for the South Wales Echo in advance of the game. He and his mu are very excited about going along to the stadium and sincerely hope that Cardiff wins the game!!

On Saturday 16th April, 2011 Maya and her families dreams came true when they met the internationally acclaimed singer, dancer and star judge of Strictly Come Dancing" Alesha Dixon.

Sarah and Ben Cornelius-Price from the Joshua Foundation met Maya and her family at the luxury Mayfair Hotel, London for an evening of pure glamour!!

The charity auction in aid of the Joshua Foundation was hosted by the Rosie Colicci and her family. Rosie is currently in the final of Miss UniverseGB 2011 and will be competing for her the title on May 1st, 2011 at the ICC in Birmingham!

This incredible evening was sponsored by Nandos & Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream as well as the world renowned boxer David Hays. Alesha Dixon, X Factor's Paige Richardson, Apprentice Star Liz Lock, Misfit star Lauren Socha and many more joined us and supported this spectacular evening.

Even Bobby Davro entertained us with as compere and Paige even gave us a tune!!

Maya and her family truly had a life changing experience....

Thank you so much to the Colicci family and all who helped put on this incredible evening!! It is hoped that the fundraiser will have raised in excess of £10,000 for the charity!!

It was a very special evening for two Princesses on Thursday 27th January 2011- Carly Thomas and Leahbeth Richards joined us for their own special Pamper Night along with family members at the Cwm Calon Redrow site in Ystrad Mynach. 5 of the Miss Wales finalists and regional winners also joined in the fun along with representatives from Redrow. The Joshua Foundation has been adopted by Redrow Homes and the team gave us use for the night of one of their premier Heritage properties at Cwm Calon for a night of magic, beauty and food.Our own balloon magician Gary came along and made everyone some great surprises and the wonderful Lee Dare took photographs as keep sakes for the two young women.



The upstairs of the house was turned into the TJF beauty salon and everyone had a great evening treating themselves to new nails, pedicures, diamonte tatoo’s, new hair do’s, body massages and the wonderful Bowen Technique massage as well. The whole evening was designed as a relaxing treat for everyone there and to top it off there was a chocolate fountain and lots of nibbles.



A big thank you goes to everyone who helped to make the night a great experience for the two young women. A special thank you goes to Redrow for helping us to make dreams come true!!

On Tuesday 11th January, 2011 the Ospreys made a special visit to SkyWard, SpaceWard and the Teenage Cancer Unit at the University Children's Hospital, Cardiff.

All the children and their families were eager to meet the famous players...so were the nurses!!!

They brought laughter and smiles to everyone on the day and signed their autographs for everyone!!!

Thank you so much for your support Ospreys!!!!

Two young children with cancer met with the Ospreys' squad in a pre-Christmas training session at the region's training ground at Llandarcy. Unfortunately several families were not able to attend because of snow problems in the valley towns.

The Osprey squad will be visiting the Oncology Ward at the University of Wales Children's Hospital in the New year.

Charlotte Mooney and her sister Sarah traveled to London just before Christmas to meet Westlife.

They traveled in 1st class by train and stayed at the luxury Rafayel Hotel near the Thames. That night they were VIP Guests at the Generations Ball in Battersea. Whilst enjoying the night on the red carpet and mixing with celebs Charlotte and her sister were invited to meet their heros!!

Thanks to Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan; Charlotte's dreams were fulfilled!!

Caerphilly Castle hosted a 'funtastic' halloween party for children receiving treatment for cancer at the University of Wales Children's Hospital, Cardiff. The annual event was organised by The Joshua Foundation.

Over 120 people from fifteen families arrived to find the Great Hall decorated in a spooky fashion ... with eerie pumkin heads glowing in the darkness as they crossed the draw-bridges to enter the castle. There was a host of draculas, witches and spooky creatures ( including a fantastic Mr Pumkin Head ) crossing the threshold .... whoooaa! The children & their families were entertained by balloon artists, face-painting artists and a fun disco /punch + judy show, before tucking into a gigantic hog roast .... plus a chocolate fountain ! A professional photographer was available to take spooky family portraits, and all the children received a pumkin full of sweets to take home. "

"Go Compare party" ... at Techniquest [ Sunday 24th October 2010 ]

A fabulous party organised by 'Go Compare' was held at Techniquest, Cardiff Bay
on behalf of the children of The Joshua Foundation. A dozen children currently being treated
at the Cardiff Children's Hospital travelled from across South Wales to be entertained by Techniquest staff
in spooky science experiments , and a star gazing experience.

The star of the party was the TV advert man .... Gio .... the opera singing image of 'Go Compare' adverts
..... who posed for photographs with the children ( + their parents )

Also in attendance were Darth Vader + the Star Troopers , together with recently crowned Miss Cardiff (Alice Watkins)
and the current Mr Wales ( Andrew Western)

The children & their families were also treated to drinks and a pizza, as they were entertained by 'face painters' + balloon artists
At the end of the party , groups of tired young children travelled home ..... with big smiles on their faces .... after a very special
afternoon ..... courtesy of "GO COMPARE".