Every day is both precious and pressured for a young adult living with life-threatening illness. The long grind of diagnosis, treatment and recovery takes its toll on the individual and their family.
Willow is a unique charity that provides “special days” tailored to the needs of seriously ill young people. A Special Day in the diary provides much needed respite and an important focus for quality, family time.
The charity was founded by the former Arsenal goalkeeper and TV presenter Bob Wilson and his wife Meg, in memory of their daughter Anna, who died of cancer and whose approach to her illness inspired the idea of Special Days.
Since 1999, Willow has provided 14,000 days ranging from theatre trips and Premier League football matches to city breaks and theme park trips.
PayPal Giving Fund has supported Willow since 2008.
The association began with Stars on Canvas, Willow’s biennial, eBay auction of artworks by celebrities. The event attracts contributions from personalities from the worlds of music, sports, television and, of course, art. Pieces have been donated by Rod Stewart, Will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue, Francois Pienaar and Gerald Scarfe. The Clangers, Bagpuss and the Gruffalo made an appearance and even the stars of Strictly – Darcy Bussell, Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood et al – provided individual canvases for the auction. You can see a selection of recent works on the Stars on Canvas site,
here.
“Celebrities and artists help us to really spread the word on social media which, alongside newspaper and TV mentions, really creates a buzz and often leads to a nail-biting final few hours of bidding,” Dave Toyn, Willow’s Digital Communications Manager told us.
Stars on Canvas has raised over £300,000 for Willow since its launch in 2008, PayPal processes payments for each auction and with PayPal Giving Fund, all donations made through the platform are free from processing fees. PayPal Giving Fund also handles the administration for these donations, issuing tax receipts and providing donation and donor reports.
The Willow team also offers PayPal as a donation method for those visiting the WillowFoundation.org.uk site directly. Donors can now make individual or recurring payments by following the PayPal link on the page. They can also donate by credit card or bank account even if they don’t have a PayPal account. You can check out the page,
here.
PayPal Giving Fund has helped Willow raise £470,000, since 2008. “PayPal facilitates online donations and sales for Willow. It is a trusted brand that makes it easy for customers to donate,” says Dave.
Altogether, PayPal Giving Fund generates more than $35m in donations each year to benefit charities in the US and UK. Whether you’re a charity or a potential donor, you can learn more about what we do,
here.
You can read more about how PayPal Giving Fund supports Willow,
here. And, of course, you can make a donation to Willow,
here.