Derbyshire’s very own “fairy godmother” whose charity me&dee has helped more than 9,000 families make special memories is celebrating its 18th birthday this month with a series of fundraising challenges.
Maria Hanson MBE founded me&dee in July 2006 to help families make precious memories together when a life-limiting illness could mean their time together may be challenging and limited.
Now the Melbourne-based charity is celebrating its coming-of-age birthday by inviting as many people as possible to take part in a month of fundraisers centred around the number 18.
Launching on July 18 and running for one month, me&dee is launching three fundraisers: Challenge 18; Get Moving and Afternoon Tea with me&dee.
Challenge 18 calls on anyone including volunteers from the public, companies for team building days, schools and nurseries, to do anything centred around the number 18, donating money as they do so.
Maria Hanson MBE said: “We’re hoping that people really use their imaginations and come up with some creative ideas to celebrate our 18th birthday. Could you tie 18 balloons to yourself and send us a selfie? Paint us a picture with the numbers ‘18’ in it? Or hide 18 painted stones in your local park?
“Our Get Moving challenge has been inspired by the fact that me&dee has always gone the extra mile to help those in need. In the early days, if I was trying to organise a theatre trip for a child with a short time left to live, I’d make sure I booked them a limo – just to make it as memorable and precious as possible. We’d like to see as many people as possible going the extra mile for us – swimming 18 lengths of their local pool, for example, or walking 18 miles.
“Our last fundraiser is a bit more luxurious – we’d love to see people hosting an afternoon tea in aid of me&dee. It’s time to get out your best crockery and make it special, and raise some funds for us at the same time. It would be brilliant to see local businesses pushing the boat out and having a special fundraising tea in aid of our charity.”
The me&dee charity was founded after Maria and her cousin Delia wanted to help people who were finding it difficult to access support, often due to having been diagnosed with a rare illness. Their idea was to create a charity with minimal application procedures so that both adults and children could be helped as quickly as possible.
Delia sadly died before the charity was founded and Maria has herself been through serious illness, walking with two sticks and living with stoma bags, after having been through complex surgeries.
Despite her many challenges, her charity has helped more than 9,000 families in 18 years. She has organised days out, holidays, theatre trips, visits from Cinderella, garden makeovers and given many, many comfort bags to those in hospital.
The first organisation to help me&dee celebrate its 18th birthday is Orange Tree Nursery in Burnaston, where staff are walking 18 miles and children are also joining the fun.
The nursery has adopted me&dee as its chosen charity and owner Jacqui Mason said she was very happy to support such a good cause.
Jacqui said: “It has been a real privilege to work with Maria, she is such an inspiration. The magical experience they offer to children and their families sparks a determination within our nursery teams to support in any way that they can.
“The Orange Tree Nursery Group as a whole are committed to support me & dee to enable them to continue to touch the lives of young people and their families.”
Maria said: “I can’t really believe that me&dee has reached the grand old age of 18! I remember those early days when it was just me organising special treats for families where children were going through treatment for some very serious illnesses. One of our first recipients was a terminally ill young man who was desperate to go in a Ferrari for his 21st birthday but was too ill to leave his wheelchair – we arranged for 52 bikers to escort him. He was amazed.
“I was christened ‘fairy godmother’ by one beautiful young lady who had a brain tumour, for whom I had arranged a longed for riding lesson. It’s kind of stuck ever since because I have been able to make dreams come through for a lot of people.
“It would be brilliant to see people come on board and raise some money for me&dee through our series of challenges to help mark our 18th birthday. We’re still helping hundreds of families today, whether it’s through our continuing care to them, to Derby and Burton hospitals, hospital comfort packs, disability friendly swimming sessions, or family days out. I’m proud of what me&dee has achieved and I know that Delia would have been, too.”
To find out how you can take part in me&dee’s 18th birthday challenges, contact project organiser Charlotte Harrison-Wear by searching on Facebook for me&dee charity – Challenge 18 | Facebook. Or see www.meanddee.co.uk
This story was written and shared on behalf of me&dee by Lucy Stephens. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
