DOHA: Child cancer patients in the Paediatric Oncology Ward at Hamad General Hospital (HGH), of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), have received toys and activity items donated from an unlikely source.
Nine-year-old Finn Froud, who began a charity campaign by running 100 miles in 100 days after finding out his 11-year-old cousin had been diagnosed with leukaemia, has donated gifts bought with the money he raised during his drive.
With his parents, Finn presented age-appropriate gift packs to 21 inpatients aged between 18 months to 13 years in HGH with various forms of cancer.
They visited each of the children in their rooms, delivering boxes of toys and activity packs during a fun-filled afternoon.
Ali Abdulla Al Khater, Chief Communications Officer, HMC, said the donation was a generous gesture and the children were delighted to receive their gifts.
“Finn has brought some brightness to children at a time when they are struggling with serious illnesses.
“This fundraising effort and donations should be praised as a fine altruistic gesture by a very thoughtful boy and the gifts which have been gratefully received by these young patients and their families,” Al Khater added.
Finn had planned to raise around QR1,600 to buy toys for the cancer ward, but eventually raised QR78,000 worth of donations over the past six months through Compassionate Crowd funding, a free online fundraising service.
Virgin Megastore offered Finn a 15 percent discount on purchases made at its Doha store, according to Finn’s mother Ann-Marie Froud.
She said support had been very positive. “The response to the campaign has been fantastic, and it was great to see locals running with Finn during some of the Doha legs.
“We had 500 people running with us for the final leg of the 100 miles,” said Ann-Marie.The Peninsula
