Bradley Lowery’s family reveal their plans to launch a foundation in his name to help other children battling serious illnesses
THE family of brave football mascot Bradley Lowery today vowed to help thousands of other sick children by setting up a foundation in his name.
The move comes after Bradley, aged 6, lost his fight against rare cancer neuroblastoma on July 7 and his story touched millions of hearts around the world.
More than £1 million was raised after the family received donations from celebrities and sports stars, and now his family have met with the charity commission to make the foundation official.
They have vowed to help anyone who needs to raise funds for medical treatments or equipment that are not currently available on the NHS.
In a statement confirming the news on their official Facebook page, Bradley's parents Gemma and Carl Lowery also revealed they will be taking some "much needed time out" following the tragic loss of their son.
The statement said: "Gemma and Carl are taking some much needed time out for a couple of weeks.
"On Wednesday, we met with our chosen trustees, we had a meeting about the Bradley Lowery Foundation, and our application was submitted to the charity commission.
"The journey we have all been on has been overwhelming and we want people to know that without your help, this would have been a lot harder for us.
"So I want to thank each and every one of you for being here with us all, your support makes this a lot easier for us.
"When the foundation is established, we have vowed to help anyone who needs to raise funds for medical treatments or equipment that are not currently available on the NHS. We want to use, what we have learned in 4 half years of campaigning to make things easier for other families."
The post continued: "There will be certain criteria that needs to be met, this goes without saying, for eg, children 18 or under/and it is purely for medical purposes etc.
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"We will obtain a charity number that will enable us to get funding from other organisations to allow us to help families further.
"We hope to have this up and running ASAP."
Tributes and messages have flooded in from the football world and beyond since the sad news of the youngster's death was announced.
His family opened parts of his funeral to the public by inviting well-wishers to visit the village and line the streets.
It was reported that hundreds came to pay to their respects to the child who developed a heart-warming friendship with footballer Jermain Defoe.
Many mourners wore Sunderland's red and white strip – in tribute to his support for the team – while others came in the kits of other teams with the name Bradley printed across the back.
Bradley was a regular Sunderland mascot and struck up a friendship with the England striker.
In June Defoe penned an emotional tribute to his “best pal” Bradley – saying his favourite part of playing for Sunderland was walking on to the pitch with the brave youngster.
Defoe said he was heartbroken when he discovered the brave child could only have weeks to live.
He wore one of his England shirts to the emotional service, with 'Bradley 6' emblazoned on the back.
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