Leamington and Warwick children show their big hearts and fundraise for charity

While nine-year-old Joe Challinor has pedalled his way for ten miles non-stop around Victoria Park in Leamington to raise funds towards the care of a little girl with cancer, a group of neighbours in Warwick - aged between six and 12 - took it upon themselves to paint, bake and juice to fundraise for Cancer Research UK.

Joe had been inspired to help four-year-old Ruby Thompson, the niece of a close family friend, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma - a tumour arising from particular nerve cells - when she was 11 months old. The condition is almost exclusively of childhood and there is no exactly comparable tumour in an adult. Following two years of treatment, Ruby’s parents are now hoping to raise funds for alternative therapies in Germany.

Joe collected £20 from his school friends, but he then decided to take on a ten-mile cycling challenge. When asked why, he said: ”Because children haven’t lived their life yet and adults have.”

With the help of Rosie Hase and cheers from his family and friends, Joe completed his 20 laps on Sunday.

Speaking afterwards, he said: “It just feels brilliant to be able to help. Now I need to think up my next challenge to raise more money for Ruby as she still needs our help.”

Meanwhile, a group of children who live near each other on the Chase Meadow estate in Warwick have spent part of their summer holidays working hard to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

The friends had originally got together to attempt to sell unwanted toys, but then nine-year-old Melodie Waters suggested that they donate the money they made to the charity. Melodie had lost her mum Jackie McAndrews - whose pancreatic cancer had spread around her body - earlier this year, while some of the other children have also lost relatives to cancer.

Instead of selling their toys, the children - Melodie, her older brother Daniel and their neighbours Katie, Ruby, Tara, Maria, Jensen, Macy and Jessica - decided to create something and painted on stones they collected. After successfully selling these, they baked and decorated two batches of cupcakes and made homemade lemonade and Scottish tablets. In the space of a week-and-a-half, the youngsters raised £45 for the charity.

Melodie’s dad Stephen Waters said: “They did this all off their own back, without any prompting from adults. They are really chuffed and feel like they have given something to the community. I think it will be a regular thing every summer. They have put in a lot of time and worked really hard.

“We’re really looking forward to presenting the cheque to Cancer Research.”

To contibute to Joe Challinor’s fundraising and read more about Ruby Thompson, visit www.justgiving.com/ruby-thompson