Everyone at the International Socca Federation is thrilled for our Honorary Vice President Tim Ollerenshaw and his wife Rachel after they received recognition from Boris Johnson for their charity work.
Tim and Rachel formed Molly Olly’s Wishes after the tragic death of their daughter, and they have now raised over £2m to help families in a similar position.
In addition their incredible fundraising efforts – which included a bike ride from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Blackpool Tower, which was undertaken by the ISF Medical Director, Richard Johnson – they have their own range of toys including a lion with its own Hickman line and detachable mane to explain and normalise the effect of chemotherapy, as well as other treatments for serious illnesses.
Now, Tim – who will be with us in Crete when the World Cup kicks off in a fortnight’s time – and Rachel have received the Point Of Light Award in honour of their incredible achievements.
In a personal letter to Rachel and Tim, Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute, saying: “I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of how you have helped explain and normalise the effect of chemotherapy for children with cancer by creating a therapeutic toy lion with detachable mane.
“The £2 million you have raised through your charity ‘Molly Olly’s Wishes’ has created special memories for so many families in memory of your incredibly brave Molly.”
Speaking to the Warwick Courier after receiving the letter, Mr. and Mrs. Ollerenshaw said: “We are honoured to receive this reward and would like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to all our volunteers and donors. Their support enables us to help so many children and their families and we simply could not do it without them.
“”Having a child with a serious life-threatening illness has a massive impact on so many.
“The effect is far wider reaching than many realise and from our experiences with Molly, we wanted to help make those dark days brighter and help support children’s emotional well-being through these challenging circumstances.
“We feel extremely privileged to have met some very inspiring children and parents on our journey.”
The ISF’s Andy Thorley added his praise to the Ollerenshaw’s saying: “Their story is incredibly touching and the way they way have managed to help so many children is truly wonderful. We are proud to have helped even in such a small way.”
The Point of Light award is given to outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community and inspiring others.
To give to this incredible cause and find out the work they do, go here: