A teenage boy smiling.

September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Thomas’s mum, Melanie Winters-Holmes, is hosting the tea party on Saturday 5 September to support Momentum’s Move for Momentum fundraising campaign, which runs throughout the month. Guests can enjoy homemade cakes, a raffle, games and plenty of four-legged friends, making it a fun-filled day while raising vital funds to support children and families affected by cancer.

Talking about her son Thomas’s, Melanie Winters-Holmes said: “Before Thomas became ill, he was a strong, happy young man with a smile that could light up any room. Thomas and I were really close – we spent a lot of time together. A petrol head, he loved anything with an engine and had a particular passion for tractors.”

Sharing details about Thomas’s cancer diagnosis, Melanie said: “In December 2024, Thomas started getting severe pain in his side. We took him to the GP, but the pain was getting worse, so we went to A&E at Worthing Hospital where they did a scan, which showed a mass and we were transferred to the children’s oncology ward at Southampton Hospital. A further scan confirmed it wasrhabdomyosarcoma and within hours, Thomas was starting chemotherapy.”

Touching on the support from Momentum Children’s Charity, Melanie said: “Our family found ourselves facing a journey no family ever expects to take. Along the way, we were supported by many wonderful people, but Momentum Children’s Charity became particularly important to us. Thomas received treatment at both Southampton and Worthing Hospital, where we met Amy, a Family Support Worker from Momentum, and over time a very special relationship developed.”

Melanie continued: “Amy wasn’t simply someone providing support – she became someone who genuinely knew Thomas and they built a firm, trusted friendship. There were countless conversations, particularly about food, plenty of laughs, and moments of normality during some very difficult times. Amy supported us through the brighter days and stood beside us during the darkest nightmares. After an initial positive response to treatment, sadly Thomas relapsed. When Thomas passed away, our lives changed forever. After Thomas died, Amy continued the journey with us when she moved to Momentum’s bereavement team, offering understanding, friendship, and comfort at a time when we needed it most, and she continues to be there for us.”

Talking about the Garden Tea Party, Melanie said: “Local companies have donated some fantastic raffle prizes including a hamper from our local deli, a goodie bag full of special dog related things, a beauty prize, and some compost. We hope to welcome friends, colleagues, customers, and anyone else who would like to join us to find out more about Momentum and the support they offer. Let’s hope for pleasant weather so we can have a nice afternoon in the garden. You can follow our journey on our Facebook page, #BeMoreThomas.”

More than 1,900 families across the UK receive a childhood cancer diagnosis every year. During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Momentum Children’s Charity is reminding families across Sussex, Surrey, and London that they are not alone. Working closely with its hospital partners, Momentum’s Family Support Workers provide families with practical and emotional support, helping them through the challenges that come with childhood cancer.

The location for the Garden Tea Party Fundraiser on Saturday 5 September is Specialist Dog Grooming, 1 New Cottage, Findon. Find out more about it here

You can make a donation to Momentum through our BeMoreThomas fundraising page here

To find out more about the work of Momentum Children’s Charity and the Move for Momentum fundraising challenge, please visit www.momentumcharity.org

Notes to Editors:

Momentum Children’s Charity supports families across London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition. We partner with local hospitals to offer personally tailored support to care for the emotional and mental wellbeing of every single family member, through our family support workers. Our services include counselling, creative therapies, special experiences, and respite breaks. If the unthinkable happens, and a child dies, we offer specialist bereavement support through our Momentum Echoes service. The charity receives no government funding and is reliant entirely on voluntary support. 

Founded in 2004, Momentum Children’s Charity was started when Bianca Effemey OBE was working as a receptionist on the Paediatrics Ward at Kingston Hospital. Side effects of chemotherapy treatment can be very painful, and she became aware of the impact they were having on young cancer patients. It became her mission to get white goods donated to the hospital which could be kept full of refreshments, providing some relief to children suffering with mouth ulcers caused by chemotherapy. Momentum has grown from a very small charity to now supporting over 2,800 individuals across 726 families in 2025/26. This includes 506 families with children in active treatment and 220 bereaved families.

If you are interested in learning more about the work Momentum does, seeing the roles they are currently recruiting for or would like to get involved by attending an event, volunteering or making a donation please visit www.momentumcharity.org

www.momentumcharity.org Registered charity number: 1195373 For more information about Momentum and future press opportunities, please contact:  Claire Smith, PR and Communications Officer: clairesmith@momentumcharity.org  /  0208 974 5