Bilbo, six, becomes the face of a charity campaign after teddy arrives at his Milton Keynes home
and live on Freeview channel 276
Bilbo Godber, who is six, was supported by CLIC Sargent when he was diagnosed last year and has undergone gruelling treatment.
Now doing well and is back at school, Bilbo received a package at his Milton Keynes home this week containing a special teddy bear called Pebbles.
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The teddy is a special Christmas promotion by H. Samuel and Ernest Jones jewellers to raise funds for CLIC Sergeant charity.
Little Bilbo was filmed receiving the bear and giving it a hug. Now the heart-warming video is being used to launch the Pebbles campaign.
His mum Kim said: “When Bilbo was diagnosed with leukaemia, our lives were never to be the same again.
“In the early days we were backwards and forwards to hospital in Oxford every week. The traffic is horrendous, even getting into the hospital grounds can be a nightmare. Over the last
year we’ve travelled a total of 3420 miles."
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She added: “Bilbo suffered from nasty side effects like nausea. He lost his hair; it broke my heart when he said he was called baldy on the school playground. But he is also incredibly brave and we couldn’t be prouder.
The family was supported by a CLIC Sargent social worker, Sarah.
“Throughout our journey Sarah has been there for us from day one. Sarah is always a comforting friendly face. She helped us to navigate the minefield that is a cancer diagnosis –
and all the emotions and implications – and listened to our concerns," said Kim.
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“I was really worried about Bilbo’s education and Sarah was able to put our minds at rest. She liaised with Bilbo’s school and the hospital school to make sure we had the support we
needed.”
Director of income and engagement at CLIC Sargent, Rachel Kirby-Rider,said: “Seeing Bilbo’s reaction to Pebbles was so heart-warming and it’s what Christmas and giving is all
about. We hope that this campaign inspires people to go out and buy a Pebbles bear for someone else to help CLIC Sargent be there for more children like Bilbo and their families.”
Since launching the charity partnership in 2014, H. Samuel and Ernest Jones, as part of Signet Jewellers, have raised more than £286,000 through teddy bear sales for children and
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young people with cancer, and more than £800,000 altogether.
Pebbles the bear costs £9.99 and is available now from any H. Samuel or Ernest Jones store, or online here shop.clicsargent.org.uk.
For every bear sold H. Samuel and Ernest Jones will donate at least £3.50 to CLIC Sargent.