A STUDLEY nominee for the Pride of Birmingham Awards hopes to add to the tens of thousands he has already raised for charity this weekend.
Inspirational Ollie Stevens-Smith will hold a yard sale on Sunday (August 23), along with parents Jo and Justin, to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and charity Molly Olly’s wishes.
Mum Jo said: “Anyone is welcome to come along – we want to raise lots of money for the charities.”
As mentioned in last week’s Standard, the brave youngster, who turned ten on Sunday (August 16), has spent the last year of his life battling Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and has endured 14 rounds of chemotherapy since his diagnosis last September.
Following the advice of his doctors, Ollie underwent an operation at the Royal Orthopedic Hospital in Northfield on May 18 which involved his lower leg being partially amputated and put on backwards, granting him the best chance of mobility and of beating the cancer.
Whilst waiting for his operation, Ollie raised over £13,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital and a further £12,000 for other charities close to his heart.
During his time in hospital, Molly Olly’s Wishes, a charity which supports children going through treatment for terminal or life threatening illnesses, granted Ollie his wish of getting a laptop.
“It arrived just before Christmas,” Jo added. “It was like an early present for him – it really really helped Ollie as it kept him busy and was a bit of normality for him.
“He still uses it all the time – he loves it.”
The yard sale, which will run between 10am and 4pm from the Stevens-Smith’s home at 25 The Grove, Studley, will include a raffle with prizes on offer such as family tickets to Hatton Country World, Avoncroft Museum and Stratford-upon-Avon’s Butterfly Farm.
The family are hoping Ollie will take home the much-deserved prize at a gala night for the Pride of Birmingham Awards on October 2 in Birmingham’s Town Hall.
