We first met Ann and Norman Kendrick in 2014, when they exhibited at one of our Leigh Expo events.
They are Joseph’s grandparents, and we just took to them straight away.
At the time, Jo and I had recently lost our own grandparents, and there was something about Ann and Norman that reminded us so much of them. Their warmth, their love for their family and, above all, the lengths they would go to for their grandson.
We knew our grandparents would have moved mountains for us too and that’s the connection that stayed with us.
Over time, we got to know more of the Kendrick family, more about Joseph and more about the reason Joseph’s Goal exists.
And what started with meeting two lovely people at an expo grew into a relationship that has now lasted more than a decade.
A family we came to care about
Joseph was born in 2009 and diagnosed with Non-Ketotic Hyperglycinemia (NKH), an ultra-rare and life-limiting genetic metabolic condition.
His diagnosis changed life for the whole Kendrick family.
Rather than accepting that very little could be done, the family set about trying to change what was possible, not only for Joseph, but for other children and families affected by NKH.
Joseph’s Goal was founded in 2012.
Since then, the charity and its supporters have raised an incredible £1.3 million for NKH research, helping to support the work of Professor Nick Greene and his team at University College London, alongside research led by Professor Johan Van Hove in Colorado.
Those are huge figures and important achievements.
But when we think about Joseph’s Goal, we still think about the family behind them.
We think about Ann and Norman, and, of course, we think about Joe.
Why we stayed
Over the last 12 years, Launch NW has supported Joseph’s Goal in lots of little ways.
We’ve also watched an enormous community grow around this family.
Footballers, businesses, runners, fundraisers, volunteers, researchers and supporters have all found their own way to stand alongside Joseph’s Goal.
And after all these years, we care about them.
Twelve years later
When Ann and Norman walked into Leigh Expo in 2014, we had no idea that we were meeting people who would still be part of our lives more than a decade later.
But sometimes that is how the best relationships start.
And somewhere along the way, their cause becomes something you care about too.
We are incredibly proud to have supported Joseph’s Goal for the last ten years, and even prouder to call the Kendrick family our friends.
There is still work to do. There is still research to fund. And there are still families around the world hoping for better treatments and a different future for children diagnosed with NKH.
So we’re still here.
And we’ll keep doing what we can.
Find out more about Joseph’s Goal, the NKH research they support and how you can get involved at https://josephsgoal.org/
