We’re going across the water to Northern Ireland for the next stop in our UK tour to coincide with St Patrick’s Day. Beannachtaà na Féile Pádraig!
There, ±«Óătv Children in Need funds nearly 300 projects to a value of ÂŁ7,603,402. One of those projects is Andersonstown Traditional & Contemporary Music School which receives ÂŁ16,000 towards running affordable music classes for children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to play both traditional and modern instruments.
Around 600 children and young people attend the school each year for blocks of lessons over 10 weeks, learning anything from the tin whistle to the bodhrán, the fiddle, uilleann pipes, the flute, guitar, saxophone or, like Caolán, the keyboard. He’s just registered for another term of weekly classes he’s enjoying it so much.
±«Óătv CiN provides funding to enable children to access affordable music lessons.
By taking part in classes, these young people build confidence and develop music skills while acting as and being supported by positive role models. You can visit a workshop or see performances by some of these budding musicians at Belfast City Hall as part of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations this weekend. For more information, see the .
Meanwhile at Féile An Phobail in West Belfast a grant of £67,351 over three years funds the salary of a Youth Arts Worker who coordinates children and young people’s input to a week-long festival, leading up to St Patrick’s Day.
FĂ©ile an Phobail was established in 1988 to celebrate the positive side of the community, its creativity, its energy, its passion for the arts, and for sport. Its first FĂ©ile that year consisted of a relatively humble parade of floats, bands and GAA clubs walking in their club regalia to an open-air party in Dunville Park. Street parties were organised throughout the West. Door-to-door collections were made to fund day trips to the seaside for pensioners and outings for young people.
Youth Arts Worker Kevin Morrison recalls: “Soon the street confrontations associated with the week around August 9th were displaced by a positive display of the community and its creativity. Féile an Phobail has grown from a one-week festival to being the largest community arts festival in Ireland with a year round programme of events.”
You can book tickets to go and see the festival via .
Elsewhere in Northern Ireland, a new charity is emerging that’s nothing to do with ±«Óătv Children in Need but was inspired by a family who were involved in an appeal show film in 2011.
Ellen Vance and her son, Todd, from Dundonald, featured in (on YouTube) to illustrate the support he was receiving from the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. A grant of ÂŁ10,445 from ±«Óătv Children in Need helped to fund the charity’s Family Support Service that Ellen and Todd valued so much.
During the film, Ellen talked about the impact that losing his hair had on Todd, who had been lucky to keep his blonde spikes during the early stages of treatment. But a year on, he experienced a reaction to the chemotherapy and had to undergo a more intensive regime. For Ellen, that's also when it really hit home that he was very poorly.
"When Todd lost his hair, it was absolutely devastating for him and it was so quick when it happened. It was hard for the whole family to deal with. One day he had a full head of hair, the next day or so it was completely all gone. We weren’t mentally prepared for it at all. It was like a wake-up call that yes my son has cancer."
"Todd struggled with being in society because he knew people could tell he was sick. Even going into clinic, where everyone looked the same, Todd couldn’t cope with the loss of his hair. He hid behind the sofa if someone unexpectedly called at the house. He was so self-conscious that he even asked for a wig so that he could feel “normal again” but he found it got too warm and itchy so we needed a long term solution. We got him a baseball cap but you could still tell that he had no hair on the back of his head. He didn't like beanie hats because they rubbed and made his head sore so we needed something else.”
The solution turned out to be a bandana, which changed his life for the better almost immediately, turning him from a shy and scared child, to a confident boy who loved to show off the different ways you could wear them. As a result of finding that solution, Ellen and Todd set up a new charity called Bandanas for the Brave to support other children who have lost their hair through treatment by giving them free bandanas.
As Pudsey bear knows a thing or two about bandanas too, we wanted to share this local success story on St Patrick’s Day as each week in Northern Ireland, another three young people are diagnosed with cancer.
Ellen said: "I always thought that we would like to do something for the children themselves, give them a wee smile on their faces even if it’s just for a minute. So we talked to Todd and asked him what he thought the hardest part of this journey was and he didn't say anything about the daily pain, the sickness and struggles going through the chemotherapy. To him, the hardest thing was losing his hair. So that’s why we have decided to set up this charity, to try and help other children going through the same journey.
"We have helped around 100 children and young people now, and everyone including the doctors at the Belfast Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children think it’s a wonderful idea so in mid-February they gave us their backing. They now keep a stock of the bandanas in the hospital to give out to newly diagnosed children or when they need to. This is a big step for us and I am grateful to them all for their help.”
Todd's brain tumour is in an inoperable position so he still has regular check- ups but is doing well. The family has recently been to Florida where Todd had his Make a Wish Foundation treat to swim with dolphins.
He said: "It was amazing - words can't describe how it was."
Todd Vance swims with a dolphin
Now it’s back to working on the charity, building its website and social network sites.
It's not something Ellen every imagined she'd be doing, but as a result of her efforts, she was nominated for Tesco magazine's mum of the year in 2012 and got down to the final seven.
But, in typical self-effacing style she says: "Who needs an award when I've got my kids to look at every day?!"
Those children are three boys - Cameron, 17, Todd, who's now 11, and youngest son Carter who's four.
"Little old me never thought I could do anything like this... But if one other child feels the way Todd did when he starting wearing his bandana, well my job's done."