Children before branding
We will never use a child's story, photograph or diagnosis simply because it makes a good post. Families stay in control.
Where this came from
We did not set out to start a project like this.
Project Golden Child comes from our own family's experience of childhood cancer and from knowing how important it is for children to feel recognised beyond their diagnosis.
Harper gave us the reason to start. The families we have met give us the reason to make it count.
Harper's journey changed our family.
We are Adam and Jenny. We are parents first, and Project Golden Child has come from what we have seen, felt and learnt while our daughter Harper has faced childhood cancer.
There is no neat way of describing what childhood cancer does to a family. Life becomes appointments, treatment plans, scans, medicines, worry, good news, difficult news and a constant attempt to keep life feeling normal for all of your children.
At the same time, your child is still your child. They are funny, stubborn, loud, quiet, cheeky, kind, obsessed with cartoons, football, dogs, glitter, dinosaurs, gaming or whatever makes them themselves.
That is the part we want Project Golden Child to hold on to.
Our approach
We are not trying to duplicate what already exists.
There are brilliant clinicians, hospitals and charities doing work that we could never replace. Our focus is deliberately narrower.
We want more people to recognise the gold ribbon. We want children who have faced cancer to know that what they have been through has not been forgotten. We want families to have opportunities for good days together, without everything needing to revolve around treatment.
We want to do something simple, useful and personal, then grow it carefully.
What matters to us
Thoughtful, not performative
A small thing done well can mean more than a large gesture done for attention. We want the support to feel personal.
Families are part of it
Cancer does not happen to one person in isolation. Siblings and parents carry parts of the journey too.
The next step
Harper's Heroes.
Our first practical commitment is to build a secure register of children affected by childhood cancer and make sure that being part of it leads to real recognition.