Member Article

Financial adviser joins the board at children's cancer charity

A YOUNG financial adviser has joined the board of a charity working to help patients under the age of 25 with incurable cancer.

Matthew Cook, 24, joined the Dragonfly Cancer Trust earlier this month. The charity works with young cancer patients with a palliative diagnosis, providing much needed support through providing cash gifts, keepsakes and creative therapy.

In less than 15 years the north east charity has been transformed from a small, family-led organisation into a national charity working with every major children’s cancer unit in the country.

Jane Dennison, CEO at the Trust said: “Although we’re based in Newcastle, we get referrals from hospitals and cancer units from around the UK. The referrals come from oncologists, cancer unit teams and sometimes social workers.

“We work to create memories for young people who don’t have long to live – memories for the young people and their families. We are a small team and this really helps what we do because it means we can turn around requests very quickly, with very little bureaucracy – and time is often of the essence.

“We’re delighted Matthew has joined our team of trustees. Obviously his knowledge as a financial adviser will be a help to the charity, but I was also impressed by his enthusiasm and his passion.

“Our trustees play an active part in the charity, often taking on projects on our behalf, and we’d like Matthew to get involved in our project work.

“It also helps that he’s so young and looks at things in a different way with a different viewpoint. I’m hoping he’ll challenge the board and bring a fresh perspective.”

Matthew has worked for Northern Spire, a Sunderland-based wealth management company, since 2019. He recently qualified as a financial adviser, passing the prestigious Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) Diploma in Financial Services. Matthew is also the Managing Director of popular business network The Mussel Club, which he has run since his teens.

Matthew said: “I was introduced to the Dragonfly Cancer Trust through a client at Northern Spire, and was so impressed by what they do. We try to bring a little light into the darkest of days, helping young patients to make each moment with their loves ones matter.

“I’m proud and honoured to have been asked to join the board at such an important and worthwhile charity and will do everything I can to help Dragonfly achieve its aims.

“We make a real difference in the lives of young people and their families, and I’ve been so impressed by the charity’s staff, wonderful volunteers and committed trustees – they’re all absolutely and totally focused on the needs of young cancer patients.”

The Dragonfly Cancer Trust was born out of Josie’s Dragonfly Trust, named after Corbridge teenager Josie Groves who died of leukaemia in 2007.

Jane added: “The challenge and the need for our work is growing – thankfully cancer in children and young people is very rare, but there are more than 3,700 patients under the age of 25 diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK – and about 530 will die from cancer this year.

“While there other cancer charities and palliative care organisations, we’re distinct in focusing on emotional support and memory making, wanting to care for families as a while as well as our individual beneficiaries.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rob Lawson .