The Travel Academy’s Clare Sacco has gained support from across the industry after setting up a charity for young adults diagnosed with incurable or terminal cancer.
Sacco, the agency’s marketing manager, was diagnosed with breast cancer a few days after her 25th birthday in 2019 and then told she had treatable but incurable stage-four cancer last year.
She has now founded a charity, Embers, which aims to provide support for people aged 18-40 who are facing an incurable or terminal prognosis, with the first fundraising event set to take place next month.
“I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from colleagues and businesses across the travel industry and cannot thank them enough for their kindness,” said Sacco (pictured).
Embers will host a luxury auction, raffle and entertainment at The Village Hotel in Elstree, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday, September 10.
A range of travel companies have already made donations and contributions, including Hays Travel, Uniworld River Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Azamara Cruises, Explora Journeys, Silversea Cruises and Ritz-Carlton.
Auction prizes will include a seven-night cruise with flights from Uniworld River Cruises, a luxury cruise with Azamara Cruises to a selection of worldwide destinations, a £500 voucher from Hays Travel and a three-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton Abama in Tenerife.
Uniworld UK managing director Chris Townson said he hoped other businesses would also step forward with support, adding: “Bravo to Clare and The Travel Academy for their dedication to getting this off the ground.”
Sacco said: “While many incredible charities exist to help children and teens, as well as older people diagnosed with cancer, I found there was very little to support young adults facing an incurable or terminal prognosis.
“Embers was born to provide the help that I was searching for in one place, to help remove additional pressure at what is already an incredibly distressing time.”
She added: “The Embers charity event in September marks the first step on our journey to helping young people like me, not only through support and guidance provided through fundraising and grants, but also to dispel the myth that being diagnosed at a ‘young age’ still means after turning 40.
“The reality is that more young people are being diagnosed than ever before, so it’s time to change the narrative and encourage those in their 20s and 30s to get symptoms checked to enable earlier diagnosis and better outcomes for young adults.”
All proceeds from the upcoming event will go to Embers, which is working in partnership with another charity, Trekstock, to create a resource that will be distributed in hospitals and online.
The project aims to make sure young people facing an incurable prognosis will be able to access help and information when they are ready, eliminating the need for them to carry out their own research at a difficult time.
Cancer Research has cited a 24% rise in cancer rates among people aged 25-49 between 1995 and 2019.
Around nine in 10 cancer cases are diagnosed in people over 50, but about 100 younger adults in the UK were diagnosed with cancer every day between 2017 and 2019.
Travel organisations wishing to support Embers and its charity event through gifts, donations or other fundraising contributions should contact Clare Sacco at clare.sacco@thetravelacademy.co.uk