Send Teenagers with Cancer on an Activity Holiday

Teens Unite's Activity Stay 2015 proved a huge success and this is thanks to all of the amazing supporters who contributed to the project. It is because of your help that we were able to make a life-changing difference to 25 of the young people with cancer Teens Unite supports. 

The young people travelled from far and wide to attend the week, with some travelling to London from Cornwall and Liverpool, but they didn't leave disappointed! 

It was an action-packed week with activities including Go Ape, a sports workshop with Olympic athlete Jade Johnson, an Apprentice Challenge day and a beauty workshop- just to name a few of the things we got up to. 

So many life-long friendships were made during the Activity Stay and it was overwhelming to see how much the young people were encouraging each other and boosting one anothers confidence and self-esteem. 

It was such a success that we have already started to put the plans in place to run the project once again next year. Thank you to all of you that made it happen. 

Here's what one of the young people, Melissa had to say:

“It's been a week since I left for London to spend nearly a week with some of the most inspiring people you could meet at the Teens Unite Activity Stay and it's changed me and my outlook in a way I could never imagine.

I left on the train not knowing what to expect or who I'd meet or how I'd cope with taking part in crazy activities such as a sports day, Go Ape and sports activities with Olympic athlete Jade Johnson and honestly I was so close to dropping out, there's no way my body could dope with an activity week away so soon after chemo was there?

Now that I'm back I'm gutted that it didn't go on for longer, it was the best week of the year and actually quite life changing, I've made friends for life, pushed myself more than ever before and managed to see that having cancer was the best thing that has ever happened to me. It has made me more determined than ever to achieve my goals and become a better person and that I'll be ok. My whole mentality and outlook has changed in five short days.

Cancer can be the loneliest road you ever have to take, no one else understands what you're going through, you feel like you must be the only 21 year old in the world to battle cancer. But I'm not alone, Teens Unite introduced me to lots of new people who are a similar age and battled cancer. 

I've been very lucky to be helped by lots of different charities but Teens Unite is so different and so much better than  any other, to them I'm not just a cancer patient, I'm a young person who can achieve so much more than I can imagine, they've inspired me to not only achieve my goals but make new ones because I know I can achieve anything, they made me feel like the strongest person in the world, they're mission statement is "to help young people build on their self esteem, self confidence and to reduce the feeling of isolation, realising that others are facing similar challenges". I've gained so much from the Teens Unite Activity Stay. I'm a lot more confident, driven, determined and so proud of myself and all the other teens. I've made friends who are like family and already can't wait for the next event. It's such a special charity and I never thought I could ever be normal again, now I know I'm not normal my cancer doesn't define who I am it shapes who I'm going to be in the best way. I'm a better person because of my diagnosis and I'm going to be ok in the future and Teens Unite have helped me see that.”

Links:

• http://www.teensunitefightingcancer.org

Teens Unite's Activity Stay 2015 is now in full swing and what a fantastic time we have all been having so far. 

The young people arrived at our boarding house at Mill Hill School on Saturday, ready for a week packed full of activities, kicking off with some ice breaker games followed by a fish and chips supper. 

We had the pleasure of award-winning cartoonist, Neil Kerber joining us yesterday morning for a creative illustrations workshop. Neil is renowned for his work in national newspapers including the Daily Mirror. 

The sun was shining for our BBQ and sports day yesterday afternoon, which saw the teens (and staff!) competing in teams to win the egg and spoon race, sack race and tug of war. 

After an energetic afternoon, it was time to sit back and relax in front of a film. 

Today the group is heading to Go Ape, followed by pizza making this evening. There's plenty more to follow for the rest of the week including our Apprentice Challenge, sports workshop with Jade Johnson and beauty session with Look Good Feel Better. 

Do keep up to date with all of the action on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. 

We would like to thank all of those who have donated to the project and made it all possible. 

Links:

• http://www.teensunitefightingcancer.org/news