The writer of this beautiful song, Jo Downs is an ex-Crofton School pupil and had also been a member of the Mustard Seed Soul Band when, for example we performed our first musical “His Story” at The Central Hall, Westminster, London. Tim, her highly talented husband who, I am sure had a part to play in “The Arc of a Rainbow,” was also a member of the Mustard Seed Soul Band playing saxophone- Jo playing trombone. Jo and Tim are really lovely people and this song is a great example of how they put their amazing musical talents to such good use.
Jo wrote the song for Sophie – here is the story:
Many people in our local community and beyond have been following Sophie’s Journey and I wanted to do something for her and her family to help raise money towards their chosen charity and also as a tribute to what a strong, positive girl she has been throughout all of her suffering.
Sophie was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of 9 in September 2020. She had a large tumour removed and went on to have 9 months of very aggressive, intensive chemotherapy to try and eliminate the cancer. Devastatingly, the tumour returned this April and her family have had to make the decision to not put Sophie through any further treatment and allow her to enjoy fulfilling her bucket list of life experiences in the time she has left.
Alice’s Arc was set up to improve research and funding into developing kinder treatments for children with Rhabdomyosarcoma. Children are given the same treatment as adults yet their bodies aren’t developed in the same way and can be damaged irreversibly by the strength of it. Only 4-5% of funds raised for cancer charities go towards researching children’s cancer and Alice’s Arc works in conjunction with the Institute of Cancer Research and Great Ormond Street Hospital to help change this, as well as giving vital support to children and families affected by the disease.
If you would like to donate to this most worthy cause please go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/songforsophie
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