A community in Northampton has raised at total of more than £12,000 to help support the family of a two-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer.
Harvey Oldfield-Goode, of Kingsthorpe, is currently in Leicester Royal Infirmary hospital recovering from an operation to remove a tumour from his lung which involved taking out part of the lining of his heart and tightening his diaphragm.
In a bid to support Harvey’s parents Tina and Simon, who have been staying with their son in the hospital since last October, a series of fund-raising events have been held in the past few weeks.
Last weekend, a group of volunteers raised more than £2,000 from a bucket collection and more than £7,000 was raised from an event at The Romany pub which included car boot stalls, a dance display, a raffle and an auction with dozens of prizes donated by businesses and individuals in the town who wanted to help out Harvey’s family.
Almost £1,000 has been raised from a goldengiving website and Barclaycard have agreed to donate £1,500.
Northampton-based car finish suppliers Sayers have also raised a total of £1,250.
Sara Smith, who has been the driving force behind the fund-raising, said Harvey’s bravery had inspired the Kingsthorpe community to unite and support his family.
She said: “When I told the family how much money had been raised they were very happy indeed. It will help them out a lot.
“They know now they can come and spend time with their other two children and not have to worry about money.
“I’m surprised how big the fund-raising has got. The amount of people who did not even know Harvey’s family that donated money is amazing.
“It is a big community and it has brought everyone together, even people that haven’t spoken to each other for years.”
Harvey’s parents, who could not be at the event at The Romany as they were at the hospital, sent a speech which stated the couple were “humbled” by the support of the community.
The speech stated: “As parents and as a toddler Harvey and us have had to experience things no family should and yet many do, and I guess when this journey started we felt so alone and I didn’t know how my family as a whole would make it through this bulldozer through our lives.
“As the news spread so many people came to our aid, old friends, new friends and of course family, offering to help.”
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