Celebrities including Alan Carr and Katie Price helped score a goal against a childhood cancer by raising £42,000 through a football match for a Wellingborough charity fighting the condition, writes Fiona Bailey of OJ PR.
The comedian, who hails from Northampton, and the model-turned TV personality were joined on the sidelines by former popstar Kerry Katona at the all-star football game at Northampton Town’s Sixfields Stadium in aid of Niamh’s Next Step (NNS).
Stars who played in the match included former Leicester City defender Paul Konchesky, X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Stevie Ritchie. EastEnders actor Jake Wood, best known for playing Max Branning, ITV Survival of the Fittest contestant Warren Phillips and Love Island’s Dom Lever and Alex Beattie also participated.
The aim of the event, which took place on Sunday, April 15, and was organised in partnership with Northampton Town and Sellebrity UK, was to raise awareness of a rare type of child cancer called neuroblastoma.
Niamh’s Next Step, based in Wellingborough, was set up in 2013 by Chris and Samantha Curry, following the death of their five-year-old daughter Niamh, who had suffered from neuroblastoma.
See pictures from the match in our April Digital Edition
Chris Curry, said: “All the money from the celeb football match at Northampton Town has been collected and we are very pleased to have raised an amazing £42,495 from the event. As well as this amazing amount we raised an incredible amount of awareness for NNS and Neuroblastoma.
“It was phenomenal to attract such high-profile names to Northamptonshire to create such a special event staged to fund vital research into childhood cancer in memory of our courageous little girl Niamh.”
Around 100 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year in the UK, of which only around 30 per cent will survive. There is currently no government or NHS funding into the research of neuroblastoma in the UK.
Niamh’s Next Step exists to raise money and awareness of neuroblastoma while offering help, support and advice to children and families affected by the condition.
