Jeremy's Circle: fun and support for children growing up in households affected by cancer

Cancer is a cruel disease that not only affects the sufferer himself, but all those around him, especially his children or siblings.  Jeremy's Circle was inspired by the friends and family that embraced Jeremy Coleman's kids – taking them out for hikes, sleepovers, movies and barbeques – when he was in treatment.    
Cancer does not discriminate and neither does Jeremy's Circle.  All children, teens and their parents anywhere in Israel (or who plan to visit) – who have been touched by cancer – are invited to join the circle of community and support.
Programmes include a number of fun-days during holiday periods aimed at providing much needed relief for the parents and a great distraction for the kids. Previous events have included a Chanukah event with candle-lighting and of course, donuts, an activity day with the stars of Ha’Poel Tel Aviv soccer team, and several events during summer vacation, such as a tour of the chocolate factory, horse-riding and a day trip to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. During Succoth the kids enjoyed an adventure activity day in Tel Aviv including rope-bridges, paintball and other outdoor fun.
The Mentorship programme run in conjunction with the Hillel Organization matches undergraduates with Jeremy's Circle kids and provides a much-needed outlet and additional support for the child and parents. The pilot program was successfully implemented at Tel Aviv University and expanded in Fall 2009 to Jerusalem and Afula. 

"Zoe, our oldest child (aged 7) was a huge inspiration to us in setting up jeremy's circle.  she told us, during jeremy's illness, that she wanted a play-date with another girl her age who had a daddy with cancer.  Since no organisation existed at the time that provided services for the children in families with cancer, it took several months until we found an appropriate play-date.   Zoe benefited tremendously from the experience of meeting someone else in a similar situation. we want to show other kids that they are not alone in having a sick mom or brother and that its okay to have fun and be happy anyway."  Pamela Becker, co-founder of Jeremy's Circle

 


Jeremy's Story

Originally from London, Jeremy moved to Israel at age 24, where he met his American-born wife pamela and became a father to three cherished children. The young family liked to go to the neighborhood pool and to the beach, to barbeque ridiculous amounts of meat and to go on weekend hikes with their circle of friends.  At the age of 38, at the peak of a promising career and when his youngest was just six months old, Jeremy was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  Family life as they knew it ended.  
Cancer soon became a powerful element in the household.  Jeremy and Pamela were absent from the home quite a bit – in the hospital or traveling abroad to meet with international experts.  The effect on the children was dramatic and the couple were grateful to the family and friends that helped keep their home as "normal" as possible for the kids, throughout fourteen months of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  on weekends that Jeremy was ill and Pamela was exhausted, friends and family would simply pick up the kids in the morning for some fun, and then bring them home in the evening, fed and happy.
Jeremy and Pamela often discussed how lucky they were to have such tremendous support for their children and that they wanted to create a supportive community for other children like their own.   They decided to establish an organisation that would help children who were affected by cancer in their household to get out of the house, meet each other and have fun, even when their parents were too unwell or too busy to take them. 
While Jeremy was hospitalised in june 2008, he worked together with pamela and his sisters juliette and naomi to outline the mission and structure of the organisation that would later be named Jeremy's Circle.


Jeremy died July 8th, 2008. 

 

Fundraising request:  £5,000 to fund holiday parties for kids whose families are affected by cancer

The holidays are a special time for families. Jeremy's Circle wants to make sure that children who have to deal with cancer in their everyday lives can play, laugh and let go on Chanuka, Purim, Passover and other holidays from school.  Enjoying these events with other children who are growing up in homes with a cancer sufferer shows them that it is okay to have fun, even when the family is going through a difficult time.   Help us raise £5,000 so Jeremy's Circle can put on holiday parties throughout the year that these kids will never forget.

target to fund : £25,000
 

already raised : £15,184

the bottom line...

children that attend: 56
paid staff: 1 part time
no of volunteers:  25
budget (09): £55,161
admin costs: 1.5%

www.jeremyscircle.org