Northampton cancer gifts charity finally able to secure its own home after five years in operation

A Northampton-based charity that gives gifts to cancer patients undergoing treatment has finally been able to secure its own home.

The Lewis Foundation was founded in 2016 and was, until recently, run from founders Lee and Lorraine Lewis’ home and a storage unit in Upton, which meant opportunities for people to get involved, raise awareness and secure donations were often lost.

Now, thanks to a grant from the Postcode Places Trust, the charity has secured its own premises.

The £17,500 grant means that volunteers and community supporters now have a hub where they can carry out their work and create gift packs.

Lee said: “To receive the funding from the Postcode Places Trust meant so much to us as it finally given us a place that we can use in a way that would benefit our charity, where we can bring our volunteers and community together to make a difference to people in hospital and the community.

“This will present so many opportunities for us that we have not been able to do before. A huge thank you to the Postcode Places Trust for making our dream a reality.”

The charity always had plans to secure a place, but they were put on hold by the pandemic, with the financial focus being on providing their core service to get through the last 13 months.

Lee and Lorraine applied to the Postcode Places Trust - a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery - to see if they could assist and received news that they were successful.

The Lewis Foundation now has a space to carry out their charitable activities such as gift packing, meeting with our volunteers and carrying out team building activities to support our charity with businesses in the community.

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, added: “I’m so pleased that players of People’s Postcode Lottery can support charities that are doing vital work in local communities like The Lewis Foundation.

“Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be one of the most challenging events in a person’s life so the work this charity does makes a real difference to people.

“I’m so glad that player funding has helped The Lewis Foundation set up a hub for its volunteers and community workers to continue their invaluable work.”

Visit The Lewis Foundation website to find out more about the charity and how to support its work.