AN Amman Valley woman’s hard work and dedication to helping others was rewarded with a Pride of Britain nomination.
Katy Yeandle from Brynamman has dedicated her life to helping others following the death of her son Joseph in 2021.
At the time of his death, three-year-old Joseph was battling cancer and his family had been fundraising for treatment in the USA.
Katy set up the charity Joseph’s Smile which has been helping families to cover medical treatment or equipment for children who are battling cancer or living with a range of conditions as well as providing a support network.
Joseph’s Smile also provides children with cancer in the UK with a specially designed vest called The Wiggly Vest which allows children with cancer the chance and freedom to play whilst protecting their Hickman line from damages and life-threatening surgical replacements. Katy designed the vest for Joseph during his treatment.
Katy won the ITV Pride of Britain Awards’ Fundraiser of the Year Award for Wales and attended the Pride of Britain Awards in London where she was up for the main Fundraiser of the Year Award.
Speaking after the event, Katy said: “It was absolutely incredible, what a truly memorable experience with the most inspirational people we have ever met!
“We may not have won the overall award, but boy did we get our message out there.”
Joseph Smile’s Emma Rees told the South Wales Guardian how proud she and all the family are of Katy and that the night was incredible. “We’re wo girls from Brynamman and all of a sudden we are on a red carpet in Mayfair. It was surreal.” Both Emma and Katy were able to speak to a wide range of stars including Kara Tointon, Ben Shepherd and Frank Lampard about Joseph’s Smile. It is hoped that being able to talk to the stars and with their help of raising awareness of Joseph’s Smile, it will help the charity grow and to be able to help more children.
“We have a waiting list of children and families who are desperate for our help but we are not big enough to take them on yet,” said Emma. “Katy is so passionate because she wants to take them all on but we need to be able to support them.
“Hopefully one day soon we can get rid of the waiting list and be able to look after them all. It breaks Katy’s heart that she can’t help them immediately.”
Both praised Ravi from Ravi’s Dream who used his winning speech to bring up the issue of giving children cancer treatments designed for adults which have a harsh effect on their bodies. “If Katy won, she was going to bring up the harsh treatments and the fact that childhood cancer is not rare but only around four per cent of research is on childhood cancer.”
Carol Vorderman praised Katy for her work, saying: “I don’t know how any parent goes on really. As a mum I don’t know how you go on when your child has died. But then for Katy to go on, and a lot of money had been raised to send Joseph over to the States but sadly Joseph died before that was able to happen and so she’s used that money to help other families and that’s just remarkable. She’s a remarkable woman and every single ounce of me has admiration for her and her family.”
For more information on Joseph’s Smile, visit www.josephssmile.org.
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