Give A Duck – We care for kids with cancer

About

Give A Duck is a UK based charity, set-up to help Gabe's Chemo Duck (a charity/non-profit in the USA) spread it's wings into the UK. Chemo Duck is a great comfort tool used for play therapy. The program has been developed to support and educate children, along with their families during their diagnosis and treatment for cancer. It is our aim to deliver this effective tool to all the Childhood Cancer Centres in England & Wales. To achieve this goal we work with the various cancer centres and their local charities to introduce the scheme and its many benefits. By educating play leaders, family and medical staff as to the many uses and roles Chemo Duck can play during treatment.

OUR STORY

In November 2012 we received the news no parent ever expects to hear; that our son Harry was diagnosed with Leukaemia

When diagnosed Harry was informed of a new friend (Chemo Duck) he would receive to help him along his new path in life. As parents this was the least of our worries and we both soon forgot of this promised introduction. However, Harry held onto that hope and dream of getting his new friend and when he never showed Harry brought it to our attention.

So as any parent in our situation would do we set about finding Harry a Chemo Duck. When we managed to track Gabe's Chemo Duck down to it's home in Nashville USA we soon learned from Lu Sipos (founder of Gabe's Chemo Duck) that she was eager to promote Gabe's Chemo Duck in the UK as she herself was born and raised in the UK. The problem she faced was the storage and distribution of the ducks across the UK. This is where Jenkar Shipping kindly stepped in.

I had a word with my colleagues at work and we decided the least we could do was store and distribute these little fellas across the UK.

Since this day we have been committed to raising awareness of the benefit the program has and the comfort it brings. We have a number of centres interested and raising funds to invest in this great tool.

As for Harry...well as you can see he doesn't go anywhere without his Chemo Duck.

And this is why we are focused on raising funds for Chemo Duck in partnership with Candlelighters to make sure that every child that is diagnosed with cancer is provided with a Chemo Duck program.

OUR MISSION

OUR AIM IS TO ENSURE THAT EVERY CHILD IN THE UK DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER IS GIVEN THIS UNIQUE PROGRAM TO HELP THEM THROUGH TREATMENT.

We will continue to fundraise in partnership with Candlelighters and other charities local to cancer centres in an effort to raise enough funds so that every child diagnosed will benefit from this wonderful program.

The ultimate aim is to help the journey through cancer treatment easier for all those involved using the proven technique of play therapy.

Chemo Duck

Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program is a unique educational program offered by Gabe’s My Heart, a non-profit organisation in the USA that supports children and families living with cancer. Created by a mother for her son Gabe when he was diagnosed with cancer at a young age, Chemo Duck is a soft, cuddly companion that provides huggable hope and alleviates fear and anxiety. Developed with the help of child life specialists and medical professionals, the Chemo Duck Program helps introduce children and families to their new life and encourages healing through the power of play therapy. At Give A Duck we are working tirelessly to help bring Chemo Duck to the UK so that children in the UK can benefit from this great program. Give A Duck - A Costume Our friends at Rivers Meet have been working hard to help make costumes for the Chemo Ducks which are being distributed at the LGI in Leeds in partnership with Candlelighters. If you would like to give this a try at home or get friends involved we have posted some templates (courtesy of Rivers Meet) for costumes below. These can be adapted to make endless costumes for either your own duck or for Chemo Ducks at your local hospital.

Cheerleader

Cheerleader – Support your favourite team!

Download

Anna (Frozen)

Anna – from the Disney classic ‘Frozen’

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Elsa (Frozen)

Elsa – from the Disney classic ‘Frozen’

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The Hulk

The Incredible Hulk!

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Batman

Batman – The caped crusader!

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Team

WE HAVE A TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS WHO DEDICATE THEIR TIME AND EFFORTS TO THE SUCCESS OF GABE'S CHEMO DUCK IN THE UK. AS WELL AS RAISING AWARENESS OF CHEMO DUCK ACROSS THE UK THEY CAN ALSO BE FOUND FUNDRAISING FOR LOCAL (YORKSHIRE) CHARITY CANDLELIGHTERS TO SUPPLY DUCKS IN YORKSHIRE.

Andrew Phillips

Co-Founder

Trustee of Give A Duck. Father of 3 great children. Committed fundraiser. Director at Jenkar Shipping Ltd a family business and supporter of Give A Duck UK.