Cosham son continues to raise money for Karen Ingram Foundation that supports clinical trials for Non Hodgkins Lymphoma

Cosham man Tom Ingram has managed to raise over £20,000 to honour his mum, Karen, who died when she was 40 in 2008, leaving her children behind.

Tom was only 13 when he lost his mum and when he became older, he began to raise money to go towards helping treat non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. In 2020, he took his passion for fundraising to the next level when he registered his charity, The Karen Ingram Foundation, in memory of his beloved mum.

Over the last two years, Tom, 27, has made it his mission to donate as much money as possible to clinical trials at the Southampton Centre for Cancer Immunotherapy, and he has surpassed his expectations by doubling his money from last year, taking the grand total up to £20,000.

Tom said: ‘I started fundraising when I was 13. I lost my mum in 2008 so it will be 15 years next year and after mum passed away, I wanted to do something for QA, where she was looked after, and we held a one-off event at Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway which was really successful, so I decided to make it more of a permanent thing.

‘For me, it is about preventing another family from going through the same situation. I was 13 when mum passed and I have got a younger brother who was only 10 at the time. Losing a parent at any age is tough but losing then when you’re younger is hard.’

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Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a form of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system and spreads throughout the body.

Over the past two years, Tom, has acquired his mascot, Muddles The Bear, who has been going out and about to meet children at Paultons Park and raise money for the charity. Tom, alongside some of his friends, also ran the Great South Run for his mum, and he has been left overwhelmed at the support he has received in the short period of time that he has been officially operating his charity.

Tom added: ‘To see the fantastic work being done at the centre and how each donation makes a difference, especially in these difficult times, is truly heart warming.

‘We have doubled the money in a year and that is amazing really and that is all down to the people that have fundraised for us.’

Tom was nominated and became a finalist in the BBC’s Make A Difference Awards 2022 for his work in trying to make a difference by fundraising for clinical trials.

They will also be holding a huge charity ball fundraiser next year to mark the 15th anniversary of his mum passing away and the event will continue to raise money for clinical trials at Southampton.

Jo Donahoe, Director of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, said: ‘On behalf of the Centre for Cancer Immunology and the University of Southampton, we are incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated so far and helped to raise an amazing £20,000.’