SOCIETY

Wearing Red For Zac

Ellen Lees
By Ellen Lees,
updated on Oct 9, 2018

Wearing Red For Zac

Having raised a staggering £300k in just eight weeks, Zac and his family have little time left to raise the remaining £200,000 needed for treatment

Near Haploid Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia affects just 0.5% of children in the world, and young Zachariah Oliver is the only child who has it in the UK.

Diagnosed in May 2018, Zac underwent four months of treatment, but with little success. The chemotherapy hasn’t worked as hoped, and the alternative treatments available in the UK have a very limited chance of success.

In the US, however, there is the opportunity for potentially life-saving treatment. But it comes with a cost, $625,000 (£500,000) to be exact.

Pulling together to give little Zac a chance at life, his local community has managed to raise an incredible £300,000 in just eight weeks. This is a remarkable feat for the small community, but time is running out. With only weeks left to raise the remaining £200,000, his family are reaching out to the rest of the world.

“There is a price on our little boy’s life and we can’t afford it,” his family write on the JustGiving page. “This huge amount is only achievable with everyone’s help. Together we can give him the chance of a first day of school, riding a bike without stabilisers, falling in love, getting married, travelling, just growing up.”

“We are striving to get Zac the best possible treatment to give him the best chance of survival and a fighting chance for life.”

“Some clinical trials have come to fruition in America, (CAR-T) although it is still classed as experimental it has been used for five years now and have saved many lives. The same treatment has been licensed in the UK but is not yet available.

“Please help us get him to America and give him the best fighting chance.”

So far, hundreds of fundraising events have taken place, including barge pulls, sponsored walks and runs, cake sales, auctions, world-record breaking attempts, and a ball. A festival has also been organised in his name, which takes place this weekend.

This took much longer than I thought it would, and I'm so sorry if I missed anyone, there were A LOT of photos (which is amazing of course!). Music was chosen by Reuben, who reliably informed me that they've been singing it at school all week which means it 'must be Zac's song' 😊❤️ Absolutely amazing effort by everyone today, more than I can put into words, it's been incredible. And it's just the beginning... ❤️ #WearRedForZac #WeGotThisZac #TogetherWeCanDoThis Www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/zac-oliver Text ZACH75 £1 (or £2/£5/£10) to 70070 to donate.

Geplaatst door The Adventures of Arlo River op Vrijdag 28 september 2018

More than 90 schools and 160 businesses joined a ‘Wear Red for Zac’ day last week, which received backing from footballer Jermain Defoe, Rachel Riley and Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, to name a few.


If you would like to support the campaign and donate, visit Zac’s JustGiving page.

You can also keep up to date with the latest events and fundraising opportunities on Zac’s Facebook page, Zachariah’s fight against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

You can also donate by mobile, by texting ZACH75 £1 to 70070.

For mental health support and information, visit Counselling Directory.

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