Local fundraiser gets backing from leading London university

Tom Ingram (Right) with mascot Muddles The Bear handing over a cheque of £10,000 to Francys Arancibia, Philanthropy Manager (Left).

placeholder image — Tom Ingram (Right) with mascot Muddles The Bear handing over a cheque of £10,000 to Francys Arancibia, Philanthropy Manager (Left).

A Portsmouth man has got the backing of a leading London university. Tom Ingram (30) has been fundraising in memory of his mother for over eighteen years.

The fundraiser from Portsmouth began raising money at just 13 after his mother, Karen, sadly passed away from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in July 2008, aged just 40, leaving behind a husband and two young sons.

Tom's first fundraiser was held just one month after Karen's passing at The Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway in Hampshire, where the family had enjoyed days out in the past, and raised over £3,500 for The Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, which cared for Karen whilst she was ill.

Since then, Tom has raised over £71,000 for a variety of local good causes, culminating in the registration of his own charity six years ago.

Lymphoma UK was established in 2020 and aims to raise awareness and improve survival rates into lymphoma blood cancer by providing grants to medical researchers in undertake clinical cancer trials to see which treatments are most effective.

Now he has got the backing of the University College London, a leading research university, where he hopes his efforts will continue to make a difference to the lives of those affected by lymphoma.

Speaking from his home, Tom said: "We are delighted to be partnering with the UCL and handing over a start-up cheque of £10,000. We pride ourselves on working with the best medical professionals in the field, and this latest grant represents our continued commitment to improving the lives of those affected by lymphoma blood cancer"

He added: "For me, it's always been about preventing another family from going through a similar situation, so that my mother's death was not in vain."

Dr William Townsend, Lymphoma Specialist, said: “We, the lymphoma team at UCLH, are greatly appreciative of your generous support in funding our research. Your contribution directly advances our work to improve outcomes for patients with lymphoma, enabling us to accelerate studies that have the potential to make a meaningful impact for those affected by the condition.”

To find out more about Lymphoma UK or to make a donation please visit www.lymphoma-uk.org .