Mission Firefly: Whopping £7,000 donation gives our £25,000 appeal massive boost

Your Doncaster Free Press has launched an ambitious appeal to raise £25,000 to buy a new vehicle for the city’s cancer support charity Firefly Cancer Awareness and Support, which provides vital transport for cancer patients across Doncaster and beyond.

And members of Tickhill and District Lions are among the first to rally to our call – handing over a huge £7,000 to our appeal – meaning we’re already more than a quarter of the way to our target after just a few weeks.

A spokesman said: “Tickhill and District Lions are proud to support the Doncaster Free Press’ Mission Firefly campaign.

“Inspired by the Free Press project, the Lions group have donated £7,000 to the organisation.”

Firefly campaign co-ordinator Ian (Chewy) Bacchus attended a recent meeting of the club to outline the amazing work the charity does to aid cancer patients, and their support network, in Doncaster and the surrounding areas.

A Lions spokesman said: “Ian’s passionate and detailed presentation left all members in awe at the work conducted by him, his colleagues, and the legion of volunteer drivers who provide free transport for hospital treatment.

“The Free Press Mission Firefly campaign began a couple of days later, and all members were unanimously enthused and desperate to support such a worthy cause.

“As a result, Tickhill and District Lions have donated £7,000 towards the £25,000 appeal target.

“We are absolutely delighted to be able to play a small part in supporting the contribution Firefly makes to so many individuals and families on a daily basis. Firefly’s commitment to helping all people in their time of need is absolutely outstanding.”

“Moved by the Doncaster Free Press campaign, Tickhill and District Lions acted swiftly to answer the call for help.”

Tickhill and District Lions are a group of around 35 volunteers who conduct a range of fundraising activities such as race nights, car shows, raffles and the annual Santa’s Sleigh at Christmas time.

The Lions make regular donations to local individuals, groups and organisations throughout the area. New members are always welcomed.

Founded in 2006 by the late Denise Dunn following her own cancer battle, the Firefly Express provides FREE transport to local cancer patients and their families across the city to regional treatment centres using a team of volunteer drivers.

But delivering such a vital service doesn’t come cheap – and that’ why we are calling on you, our readers, to back our fantastic fundraising campaign.

And we want you to tell us all about what you are doing to raise funds too!

We want to raise a whopping £25,000 so Firefly can purchase a new, second hand vehicle to add or a replace a vehicle in its fleet and keep its much-needed and essential service running.

Drivers work hard – and the vehicles work even harder, clocking up thousands of miles each year, zipping patients and their families across the region for treatment.

The project, now in the hands of Denise’s partner Ian Bacchus and friend Paul Taylor following her death in 2014, is determined to keep its fleet of vehicles running – and our campaign aims to boost their service even more.

Ian, known as Chewy, said: “The Firefly Express vehicles provide free transport to local cancer patients and their families in the borough of Doncaster to regional treatment hospitals, using our fantastic team of volunteer drivers.

"We currently have a fleet of 12 vehicles to cope with the ever-increasing requirements.

"Firefly help local people in their time of need, making a difficult time a little easier.

“Firefly is about life – living it to the full, and enjoying every second of it.

"We want to remove the stigma and embarrassment of personal cancer problems in young men and women, giving them the confidence to communicate with friends, family and health professionals should the occasion arise.”

He added: “Using our personal experiences, we are determined to change the journey for cancer patients while raising awareness, particularly amongst young people, to spot the signs before it advances.”

We want to raise enough cash so Firefly can purchase a new or replacement seven seat vehicle to keep the trips up and running, with the vehicle fleet doing as much as 6,000 miles a week.

A huge team of 70 volunteer drivers can carry as many as 80 patients a day – and a dedicated maintenance team make sure the vehicles are kept in tip top shape. Trips from Doncaster head to treatment centres in Sheffield such as Weston Park, The Royal Hallamshire and Northern General – with drivers whisking patients from their doors straight to the hospital, before returning them home afterwards.

For more information about Firefly and all the great work they do, visit https://www.firefly-support.co.uk/

All you have to do is scan in the QR code in this story to make your donation and get the ball rolling on our campaign to buy a new vehicle for Firefly.

So get scanning, get donating and do your bit to help support our campaign and a fantastic Doncaster charity.

And if you are organising a fundraising event, please contact our campaign reporter Darren Burke via [email protected] and we’ll give you a shout out to your fundraising efforts.