Arsenal have launched their "Be a Gooner, Be a Giver" campaign in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The Gunners are renowned for bringing young talent through the ranks, often propelling them to stardom and a long, successful career in the game. So it is perhaps apt that their chosen charity for the 2008/09 season is The Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT).
Through the 'Be A Gooner. Be A Giver.' campaign, the north London giants will aim to raise £300,000 to increase its support for teenagers and young adults with cancer in London and the South East by building a unit within a brand new Day Care Centre at University College Hospital, London.
The omens are good for TCT as last season the club handed over £500,000 to its nominated charity TreeHouse, more than doubling the target of £250,000. The money raised funded new sports facilities within the charity's new national centre for autism education.
Each day in the UK up to six teenagers or young adults [between the ages of 13 and 24] are diagnosed with cancer. That is over 2000 cases a year. Many find themselves receiving treatment without the support network they need. Until 16, a patient is likely to be treated in a paediatric ward alongside toddlers. If the diagnosis is made after that age, they are likely to end up in an adult ward, in many cases alongside elderly people. The benefits of young people being able to receive treatment alongside those their own age cannot be understated.
"I think this place is great," says Harry Jeffrey, an 18-year-old Osteosarcoma sufferer. "It's nice having people you can relate to of your own age. You meet people you wouldn't necessarily meet in everyday life. I think it's great that Arsenal are going to donate money."
Harry is sitting in the common room, which among other amusements contains a wide screen television and pool table. And of course his friends. These combined factors help to make treatment days more bearable for all the patients in the TCT unit.
Fundraising initiatives by players, staff and supporters will fund an Education Zone in the TCT's unit in the Centre which is due to open in 2012. It will be the first of its kind in Europe, with building set to commence in 2010. Here young people will be able to maintain their studies and also learn more about their cancer. The zone will include computers and laptops with wireless access, enabling them to contact their school, and keep in touch with their friends.
The partnership was officially launched on Thursday 20th August, with Arsene Wenger, Cesc Fabregas, Manuel Almunia and Arsenal Ladies and England captain, Faye White given a tour of the TCT's existing unit by Roger Daltrey CBE, lead singer of The Who, Patron of Teenage Cancer Trust and huge Arsenal fan.
"It makes you feel fortunate for what you have," said Fabregas. "Sometimes at our age we think we know everything and we don't know anything. That's the truth."
Wenger was also touched by what he saw in the ward. The Frenchman even came face-to-face with a former academy player. Bone-cancer sufferer Jack Chester, 17, spent three years in the club's academy as a goalkeeper.
Several of the children who met Wenger, Fabregas and Almunia are Arsenal fans. A few weeks ago some of them were fortunate enough to visit the Emirates Stadium and meet some of the other players, as Harry recalls: "Some of my friends got to meet the players and got their autographs. They actually got to go in a box."
Harry beams with enthusiasm as he tells of his friends' experience in the 60,000 Emirates. Another patient walking around with a huge smile on her face is Gemma Ozdemir. The 16-year-old is clutching a local newspaper with a picture of her and the club's star summer signing Samir Nasri on the pitch. "It felt like I was dreaming," she says, with a look of utter contentment.
Like her friend Harry, Gemma is impressed by her surroundings and believes having people of a similar age around her is priceless in her battle against cancer. "All the teenagers are really funny," she enthuses. "The staff are really great. It's very big, new and modern. We've even got big screen TVs."
The Emirates Stadium is visible from the 12th floor of the University College Hospital where the children can see far into the distance at the city around them.
Harry points out that its central location is a key element while also stressing that the unit is invaluable to parents who can talk to other parents of children suffering with cancer.
Director of Communications Lucy Jackson is positive about the possibilities that Arsenal will open up for the TCT.
"We're really excited to be working with Arsenal," she says. "It's a great privilege and a great way to raise funds and awareness of the charity. It's amazing to be building a daycare centre that will improve the lives of others."
Arsenal's input is all the more significant when one considers that in the last 30 years the incidence of cancer in the teenage and young adult group has increased by 50% and for the first time ever, the number of teens with cancer now exceeds the number of children with cancer. Teenagers also contract some of the most aggressive cancers that are made worse by their growth spurts.
But Daltrey points to anecdotal evidence of teenagers' conditions improving because of the support network provided by their peers.
"There have been cases of 15% improvement on applications of the very same drug, just because these units are filled with other teens," he stresses. "When you're a teen, the last thing you want is isolation. The camaraderie TCT provides is where the change begins, and I've seen this charity change lives forever."
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