About the Charity
How we built Finley's Touch:
No parent wants to set up a charity in their child's name. Losing someone so incredibly special, like our beautiful boy Finley, has had a devastating effect on our family.
As one of our friends put it neatly, we have 'thrown our grief into building Finley's Touch'. In setting up his charity, we are sharing his fun, his hope, and his happiness. You can see it in his brother Jacob. You see it in his friends. It is such an incredible energy that it must be shared. The world is a better place for it.
Nicky (Finley and Jacob's Mummy) worked incredibly hard to get Finley's Touch registered as a charity, setting up the banking, governance, policies, and structure. Ben (Finley and Jacob's Daddy) is behind many of the silly ideas, the website, and the graphics, and then we have our amazing band of Trustees to fill in the gaps.
We are fortunate to have had all our friends, family, and even total strangers from around the world come together to make something beautiful out of something so tragic. We present to you: Finley's Touch.
How do we help?
We support children who have had a cancer diagnosis across South East England, covering Surrey, Sussex and Kent.
Meet the Trustees:
Aaron Arnold
Aaron helped shape Finley's Touch from the very start and her ideas, support and encouragement helped get the charity off the ground.
She joins our regular Trustee Zoom Meetings at least 1 minute early, full of wonderful suggestions and passionate about new projects, the only problem is no-one can hear her and she can't normally see us! And no, that's not because she's drunk too much Prosecco, it's apparently due to technical issues!
Aaron likes to keep things very neat and tidy, so she has her work cut out managing our Paint Splatter Events but she is wonderful in this role, and does a great job getting arty and glittery with the kids.
One of Aaron's most rewarding occasions was single-handedly hauling 5 Hospital Survival Bags across London with her 4 year old Brooks, all the way to GOSH to spread some fun, happiness and hope.
Nicky Relf
Nicky does most of the administration for the charity. When one of the other trustees comes up with amazing ideas, she will be the one running the Fulfillment Centre, packaging everything up, and doing all the trips to the post office. It's the best way to make sure it's done right!
The charity makes Nicky feel she is still doing things for Finley and is so proud of what his name and memory is achieving to help others. Knowing how tough the journey is, she wants to do everything she can to support people treading this horrendous path.
She has worked for the ambulance service for over 20 years and is still wearing the uniform with pride but will always hate night shifts!
And she will always be looking for a Time Machine.
Ben Relf
Ben has found that helping to set up and run Finley's Touch has helped enormously with the grief of losing Finley. It helps occupy the mind; to remember happy times, but also shows to the world that there is a way to survive when all seems lost. The messages of thanks that we get from helping others makes it so worthwhile.
Ben works as a Paramedic and Operational Team Leader for The Ambulance Service, where there is never a dull day!
When he is not doing the day job, he likes to give the website a quick update or think up new whacky ideas. Ben was inspired by Finley to set up our Paint Splatter Workshop, we have now held many of these and helped loads of kids create amazing works of art.
Sophie Streeter
Sophie is the youthful energy behind Finley's Touch. Even though (she thinks) she is the most fashionable and glamorous of the trustees, she is more than happy to roll her sleeves up, grab a Nerf Gun and go rolling around destroying stuff with anyone who will roll around with her! If Sophie could make the kids belly laugh with joy it was always worth it. Well, what are Fairy Godmothers for anyway!?
Finley's Touch is very lucky to have Sophie to run all our Social Media accounts and she is always looking for fundraising ideas and ways to spread Finley's Touch. If there is a way to share our latest Facebook post beyond the solar system, Sophie will find it.
Ralph Doe
Ralph joined Finley's Touch as a Trustee in winter 2022, having spent many preceding months telling Ben, Nicky, and anyone else who would listen, all about his wacky fundraising ideas for the charity!
Fast forward a few months and we have run a very successful Christmas Card campaign, you can now adopt a rubber chicken, and if we take on half of Ralph's other ideas we're in for very interesting times ahead!
Ralph has spent nearly 20 years working with charities and not for profits.
His knowledge, skills and personality are a great benefit to Finley's Touch, and what he lacks in tea making skills he makes up for with his Home Brewability.
Colin Barry
Colin looks after our finance department and tries to be the voice of reason when we get side tracked talking about how a rubber chicken could fly a jumbo jet...
Eleanor Relf
Auntie Eleanor's never ending energy (even on a groggy Sunday morning) helps keep us all going and ensures that Finley's Touch will continue to be shared.
Eleanor writes our press releases and her media knowledge is invaluable to the charity. She even wrote him his very own story while he was in hospital, which you can find here: https://finleystouch.org.uk/fun-and-games. She's bold as brass with a bucket and gets the kettle on quicker than a megalodon chasing a shark at breakfast time.