George Radcliffe was just three years old when he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in May 2022.
During his treatment, his parents, Lisa and David, from Isleham near Newmarket, set up the Just George fund with CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association to raise funds for much-needed research into rhabdomyosarcoma.
George with his parents, David and Lisa.
Curious and kind-hearted George passed away in October 2023. Since then, Lisa and David, along with family, friends and a legion of supporters, have been working tirelessly ever since to fundraise in his honour.
On September 26, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Lisa and David hosted the Just George Golden Ball, at Chippenham Hall, with 200 people joining them for an auction, food and live music.
Just George Ball
Lisa said:
George was so beautifully in mind throughout the evening with George Ezra goodies and a Paddington picture in the auction, some of his favourite music playing, his golden trilby sat on the balloon arch, and a piece of artwork named ‘George’.
Over £19,000 was taken on the night from raffle tickets sales, donations and auction bidding, with Lisa describing the auction as “lively, with items being fought for and guests desperate to support the cause and give where they could”.
As the auction ended, Lisa and David were able to share in a special moment with their supporters.
Lisa explained:
As the auction drew to a close, David stood up to share that our fund had hit £250,000 – a quarter of a million pounds in just two years. Our guests celebrated by dancing the night away.
Speaking on reaching the milestone, Lisa said that she and David never envisaged raising such a huge amount when setting up the fund, and instead simply wanted to help change the future for other families facing a diagnosis of childhood cancer.
She said:
We never set fundraising goals when we opened our fund with CCLG. The ambition was always to raise money for research into rhabdomyosarcoma, to make a difference for children diagnosed in the future. George knew we were raising money for the curious scientists to be able to ask questions and find out more. Curious himself, he wanted to know why his ‘naughty cells’ formed a lump and how his good cells might be able to challenge them. In his memory, raising this money and working with CCLG to find new opportunities for research is everything we hoped for.
Lisa said that raising the amount that they have, and in turn, helping CCLG to fund, so far, two research projects, wouldn’t have been possible without their supporters.
She said: “We wouldn’t have reached this milestone without our community. Friends, family, local schools, businesses, charity partners and complete strangers who have been touched by George’s cancer journey.
“Thank you for every donation, event attended, volunteering hour given and every time you’ve talked about Just George to someone and helped us put childhood cancer in people’s minds making them keen to find out more.”
Lisa and David have no plans to slow down in their fundraising, with events including a Christmas party night coming up, and a Just George children’s book fair in development for the spring.
Lisa said:
We’re not stopping. Research is expensive. It takes great minds, state-of-the-art equipment, and time. We want to play our part in finding effective and kinder treatments, with fewer short- and long-term effects for children with cancer, including rarer cancers and those that relapse. We’ll continue fundraising and hope that this next year will be just as fruitful.
Ashley Ball-Gamble, CEO of CCLG, said: “We’d like to say a huge congratulations to Lisa, David and their supporters on what is an incredible achievement.
“Their dedication to helping us to change the lives of children with cancer, in memory of George, is nothing short of remarkable, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their efforts.”
