Fund set up in memory of Huddersfield tot helps poorly children achieve their dreams
Today sees the launch of a charity walk to help children with life-limiting illnesses. Catherine Scott reports.
It is four years ago today since Gemma and Joe Baum lost their daughter Maia to a rare genetic condition – just before her first birthday.
After she died her parents set up the Maia Mouse Foundation, which helps children with life-limiting illnesses in their daughter’s memory after her nickname Maia Mouse.
In the last four years they have raised more than £130,000 and worked with hospices, including the Forget Me Not hospice in Huddersfield to help children make memories. Now the charity has restructured and is working with hospices across the country.
“Maia suffered a rare life-limiting condition and lost her battle just before her first birthday,” says her mum Gemma, from Meltham. “In the months before that Maia enjoyed as many experiences as possible, making memories as she went. Those trips came to be known as ‘The Adventures of Maia Mouse’.
“The concept of the charity is to work alongside hospices and pay for other children with life-limiting conditions to make memories in the same way, by the giving of grants to those in need.”
Today sees the launch of Walk the World with Maia Mouse, the foundation’s biggest challenge yet.
“It builds on a trend of recent years that has seen a group of charity supporters embarking on multiple 100km ultra races in aid of raising funds,” says Joe. The objective is to walk a combined 50 million steps, covering 25,000 miles, with 1,500 people around one world for one charity.
The charity, which has already helped 15 children this year, is asking for people to walk what they can from today. Participants will be asked to raise a minimum donation or sponsorship of £1 for each mile they walk, individual’s achievements will be logged, through the website www.maiamousefoundation.org.uk or Facebook page @ maiamousefoundation.
“We recognise that in recent months the world has changed significantly, but one thing that remains very much within it is helping each other and those in need,” says Gemma, who has son George, three, and one-year-old Olive,
“We want strangers to pull together through this event with a collective purpose of helping children with life-limiting conditions and ‘Walk the World with Maia Mouse’.”
‘Walk the World with Maia Mouse’ is challenging people to do part of a 25,000-mile ‘virtual’ route which will be visualised on a map of the world.
People are asked to upload their miles as they go along, which will generate a total. The idea is that participants will aim to raise £1 for each mile that they cover between May 20 and the end of June. This can be done by simply donating or through sponsorship.