Cumbria family to raffle off £180k home for charity after daughter, 3, is diagnosed with rare cancer

A couple are raffling off their £180,000 home for just £2.50 a ticket to raise money for a charity dedicated to finding a cure for the rare children's cancer their daughter has.
Oonagh Wilkinson.Oonagh Wilkinson.
Oonagh Wilkinson.

Three-year-old Oonagh Wilkinson has neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that mostly affects babies and children.

The condition develops from specialised nerve cells (neuroblasts) left behind from a baby's development in the womb and affects around 100 children each year in the UK - mainly under the age of five.

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The Wilkinson family are now hoping to raise at least £40,000 for Neuroblastoma UK, by raffling off their two-bedroom home in Ulverston.

The two-bedroom Ulverston house.The two-bedroom Ulverston house.
The two-bedroom Ulverston house.

Oonagh was diagnosed on New Year's Day in January 2019 when she was 19 months old, just before the family decided to relocate to Spain after living in Dubai.

Her mum, Samantha Wilkinson, 36, flew back to England to have her third child Clark, now two, when Oonagh was diagnosed at Furness General Hospital.

She underwent surgery to have the tumours removed at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and is now doing well after being given the all clear following a scan in November.

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The two-bedroom house in Ulverston was originally bought in case the family needed to travel back to the UK for Oonagh's treatment or if she relapsed.

The two-bedroom Ulverston home.The two-bedroom Ulverston home.
The two-bedroom Ulverston home.

The Wilkinsons are planning to move back to the UK permanently, but will now need a bigger house due to having more children.

Samantha, from Dalton-in-Furness, came up with the idea of raffling of the house after hearing about a family who did it before emigrating to Australia.

120,000 tickets are available to buy in order to be in with a chance to win the stone-fronted house, which will be mortgage free and with all legal fees and stamp duty paid.

The winner will also receive £5,000 in cash.

The two-bedroom Ulverston home.The two-bedroom Ulverston home.
The two-bedroom Ulverston home.
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Samantha said: "2020 has been a tough year for everyone and if we can possibly offer the chance for someone to own their own home to make it a bit easier then we will.

"We understand that moving into a new home has other expenses too such as council tax, bills etc so that's why we have included a £5,000 cash prize too.

"We want to raise as much money as possible for Neuroblastoma UK from ticket sales as they're only a small charity who do such great work which has gone into Oonagh's treatment plan. Without their research things could have been a lot different.

"We want to assure everyone that all money raised will go to the charity and we will not keep any of the proceeds ourselves which includes legal fees and stamp duty."

To be in with a chance of winning the Ulverston home, visit the Raffall website here or the family's Facebook page here

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