A Police Constable and his wife who sadly lost their son to an intestinal disease have set up a charity to support children and their families who spend a lot of time in hospitals.

Dave Fenton and his wife, Jane, have set-up William’s Gift in honour of their six-year-old son who sadly passed away in November 2019. The charity will aim to support the families of children who are frequently admitted to hospital by providing them with care packages filled with important items to keep them going during lengthy hospital visits.
 
William Fenton was born with Total Intestinal Aganglionosis Hirschsprungs Disease which affects the bowel and subsequently other organs. He was admitted to hospital in October 2019 after developing sepsis but he tragically passed away six weeks later.
 
Dave - who has been a serving police officer for 15 years and currently works across the City of Manchester division – and his wife Jane courageously decided to set-up a charity to support other families who find themselves in similar situations.
 
William’s Gift proudly bears an orange balloon as its logo, which was taken from one of William’s school books.
 
Police Constable Dave Fenton said: “The loss of William has left a huge hole in our lives, especially for his big sister Sophia who was his best friend.
 
“William was the most courageous, kind and inspiring young man. Even though he had this awful disease, he just loved life and had the most infectious smile.
 
“William spent a lot of time in hospital including the first full year of his life and it was hard on all of us. It could be lonely and stressful and often very noisy so we never really slept properly. It was also financially difficult.
 
“We often found ourselves in an ambulance in the middle of the night heading to hospital and almost every time we realised we’d forgotten to bring toiletries, such as toothbrushes and deodorant with us.
 
“We decided to set-up William’s Gift to help children and their families whilst at hospital and we’ll cover Manchester Children’s Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital specifically as they hold a special place in our hearts.
 
“We are so passionate about this charity and just want to help as many families as we can. We have started fundraising in earnest and I have signed up to do a 24 hour endurance run in August. If this is cancelled I will most certainly be running or jogging for the full 24 hours in my back garden!”
 
To support registered charity William’s Gift, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/williamsgiftfundraising?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Yimbyprojectpage&utm_content=williamsgiftfundraising&utm_campaign=projectpage-share-owner&utm_term=KYDeP7D6g
 
For further information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/williamsgift24/