Mothers beginbig-wheelcharitypodyssey

TWO best friends who have both lost daughters to cancer are spending this weekend in a tiny glass pod above Sheffield city centre to raise money for a charity that is especially close to their hearts.

Joanne Hall, who founded the charity Amy’s Retreat with her husband Steven after the death of their five-year-old daughter Amy, boarded the big wheel in Fargate yesterday lunchtime with her friend, Gabrielle Latham.

Until noon tomorrow the pair will be spending every minute on the wheel, even eating and sleeping in the three metre by three metre pod which they will only be allowed to leave for designated toilet breaks.

Mrs Hall and Mrs Latham met at Sheffield Children’s Hospital after their daughters were diagnosed with cancer within weeks of each other. Mrs Latham’s daughter, Alex, died in 1997, just seven months after she was diagnosed.

Both women, who each now have three children, are heavily involved with Amy’s Retreat, which provides holidays for children with cancer and their families.

Mrs Hall, 44, said: “When Amy died in 2000 we’d been on some short breaks and it really helped. Getting away gives everybody that time to do something nice together.

“After Amy died, I wanted to do that for other families because, when you’re going through treatment, it’s very difficult not only to afford a break but also to find the time to organise it.”

Amy’s Retreat has already enabled more than 125 families to enjoy a holiday at Center Parcs, and the charity is now planning to build a special holiday home which will be somewhere for children with cancer and their families to go.

Mrs Latham, 49, said: “We hope our lengthy stint in the pod will help raise enough funds to bring this project to life.

“Amy’s Retreat isn’t just about the money, it’s about the fact that families just have to pack and go away – there’s nothing else for them to arrange. When you have a child with cancer it’s as if you’ve been thrown into a world that you didn’t really know about previously.

“You’re very vulnerable and someone doing something for you makes a big difference. You feel that everyone else’s lives are going on as normal but yours has become something else altogether.

“We’re very proud of Amy’s Retreat and the fact that we get some fantastic feedback from families who have been on the holidays.”

This fundraiser comes just a week before the big wheel, which has been in Sheffield since July 2009, leaves the city for good. It is set to be dismantled on Sunday, October 31, and moved to London, where it will be erected in Hyde Park in time for Christmas.

Mrs Latham, from Beauchief, Sheffield, added: “It’s a good job that Joanne and I are close, but spending 48 hours in such a confined space will still be a challenge.

“Mind you, we both share our homes with a husband, three children and a variety of friends and relatives who pop in and out.

“This could be a rare chance to get some peace and quiet for once.

“We think that the toilet thing is going to be the biggest challenge – all we have is a Portaloo like the ones at music festivals.

“It’s also supposed to be really cold on Saturday night, but we have sleeping bags and lots of warm clothing, so hopefully we’ll be all right.”

To donate to Amy’s Retreat, visit the website at www.justgiving.com/BigWheelLock-in, hand donations to collectors in Fargate this weekend or give 5 by texting the word AMY to 82010.

It is estimated that more than half a million people have been on Sheffield’s big wheel since it was erected last year.

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