Celebrities Gather at Number 10 Downing Street to Celebrate 21 Years of Roald Dahl's Charity

LONDON, November 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Tuesday night Tim Minchin, Quentin Blake and Heston Blumenthal joined Samantha Cameron at Number 10 Downing Street to celebrate the work of Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity, helping to support seriously ill and disabled children around the UK.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121108/573676 )

Tim Minchin, award-winning composer of smash hit West End production Matilda the Musical, said: "This marvellous charity believes that every child has the right to have the best life possible, however difficult and short that life might be."

He said, "The charity has a brilliant holistic approach, helping children with rare and severe disorders of the brain and blood, to have better health, a fuller life and a happier family."

Ongoing support and donations are crucial for the charity in its work, which was set up in 1991. The charity provides practical help by supporting families to assist with equipment purchases such as wheelchairs, supports grassroots projects, funds specialist paediatric neurological and haematological nurses, and provides grants for training and research.

Special guests included the families helped by the charity such as Kharis and Edward (pictured with Tim Minchin, Samantha Cameron and Richard Piper). Kharis (13) and Edward (9) Botchway both have sickle cell and are patients of Phil Daly, a Roald Dahl haematology specialist children's nurse at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington.

Chief Executive, Richard Piper, said: "I'm delighted that we were able to host an event at Downing Street. Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity exists to fill gaps and those gaps are still enormous. For example we have received 16 enquiries in the last 12 months for our unique specialist nurses programme. But at the moment we only have the funds for one."

Visit http://www.roalddahlcharity.org to find out more.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Tim Minchin is an Australian musician, composer, comedian and writer. Tim has written the music and lyrics for Matilda the Musical for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Quentin Blake is one of Britain's best-loved illustrators and children's authors. Quentin is President of Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity.

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity

Roald Dahl is famous for his stories and rhymes that still spark children's imaginations today. Much less well known, however, is how he often went out of his way to help seriously ill children, dropping into hospitals to read to sick children and even helping to buy special wheelchairs that parents couldn't afford themselves.

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity continues this legacy, by helping seriously ill children with serious neurological and blood conditions. These conditions are often life-long and, although not always life-threatening, need constant support.  Since 1991 the charity has donated more than £6million in grants and has pump-primed 47 specialist paediatric nurse posts in the fields of neurological conditions (such as acquired brain injury), non-cancer blood disorders (such as Sickle Cell Disease) and epilepsy.

For more information about the Charity's work please contact Richard Piper (chief executive) or Eve Robinson (head of fundraising and marketing) on +44(0)1494-890-465 or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity
81a High Street
Great Missenden
Buckinghamshire
HP16 0AL
+44(0)1494-890-465

Registered Charity No: 1137409
Company Limited by Guarantee No: 7340518

SOURCE Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity