This year’s Adam’s Festival of Hope on August 31 will be a whole day of family fun, held in the stunning new Haverfordwest High School grounds and performance Hall.

The site will be home to craft, wellbeing, hot and cold food stalls, a fair, many displays, many Pembrokeshire Charities available on hand and many more activities for a fun packed day!

The spectacular day will be topped with Heather Small of M People performing with many other groups and bands. all making music for this special day.

The very first Festival was held in Carew Pavilion in 2005, a very emotional day following the death of a young man, Adam Evans-Thomas from leukaemia. Adam was keenly aware he needed a bone marrow transplant but sadly could not find a donor. He set about fundraising for the Welsh Bone Marrow Tissue Typing Register to put as many donors from Pembrokeshire on the register as possible.

He raised £45,000 to test these donors as back then, every donor had to be paid for to be tested. Little was known then how many monumental strides in the treatment of cancer would happen.

Adam’s Mother, Chris Evans-Thomas commented:

“It’s 30 years since Adam was diagnosed and medical knowledge of genetics has developed rapidly – if Adam was diagnosed today, the outcome of his blood cancer would be completely different. The one thing that does not change is the need for blood and bone marrow donors. Blood is needed every single second of every single day! Adam was certainly kept alive and living a good life because of it. Stem cells are the greatest discovery of this century and we are just at the threshold of discovering the massive potential of these amazing cells – but we always need people to step forward to offer their life saving donations for others and hopefully the Festival Day will bring many new donors for the Welsh blood Service.”

Adam’s Bucketful of Hope is a centre that offers principally emotional support for patients and their carers. The team distracts patients from the daily anxiety of their illness by engaging them in exciting activities, trips, parties, delivering complementary therapies, beauty treatments, podiatry, and counselling to name but a few. They set them challenges that take them out of their stressful situation and hopefully, by this distraction, ease their pain and fear.

The charity was started by Adam Evans-Thomas on being diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia over 25 years ago. He started his fundraising for the NHS by recruiting blood and bone marrow donors for the Welsh Blood Service in Llantrisant. The Heath Hospital, in Cardiff has a high dependency room donated by Adam’s Bucketful of Hope Appeal.

Although Adam ultimately lost the battle at the age of 35, he wanted to ‘give back’ to the wonderful Withybush hospital and staff who looked after him for the 10 years of his illness by fundraising for a new Cancer Care Day Unit. This Unit, called the Pembrokeshire Haematology and Oncology Day Unit was completed in December 2017 and so Adam's Legacy was fulfilled. His friends and family have continued to run the charity named after him to provide comfort and care to cancer patients and their carers.

The charity is partnering with the Architectural Heritage Fund and the National Lottery to restore Foley House in Haverfordwest to its former glory – designed by John Nash one of the foremost British architects of the Georgian and Regency era and responsible for Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch. This will allow them to greatly expand the range of services they offer to patients, provide ample car parking and outdoor activities in the picturesque gardens.

Every Wednesday the centre runs a rest and recuperation day where they will take care of you with a £5 lunch, crafts and activities, giving your carer a day to themselves – email [email protected] or ring 01437 779400 to book.

The charity’s shop in Dew Street, Haverfordwest is open six days a week for coffee and cake, books, clothes, toys and bric-a-brac.

Thirty years after the original ‘Adam’s Festival of Hope’, the Welsh Blood Service has teamed up with Adam's Bucketful of Hope to encourage more people to give blood and join its lifesaving stem cell registry on August 31, 2024.

The Welsh Blood Service is urging more people to consider giving blood locally and join over 70,000 volunteers on its stem cell registry. Joining the Registry is easier than ever before thanks to the new ‘swab-kits’ which will be available at the Festival.

Expectations are high after a record-setting day back in 1994, with the most stem cell volunteers - previously referred to as bone marrow volunteers - being recruited in one day, entering the Guinness Book of Records. The Welsh Blood Service is hoping more 16 to 45-year-olds will consider joining at the upcoming event, helping them reach their annual target of 4,000 new volunteers.

 Adam’s Bucketful of Hope was started by Adam Evans-Thomas after being diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia, the charity helped the Welsh Blood Service by recruiting blood and stem cell donors across the country. Sadly, Adam passed away however, his family and friends have continued to fundraise as part of his legacy. 

Despite over 40 million people on the global stem cell register, three in ten patients still won’t find a suitable match; for patients from a Black, Asian, Mixed or Ethnic minority background it is as high as seven in ten. The higher the number of volunteers on the register the greater chance patients in need will find their potentially lifesaving match.

There are two ways to join the Welsh Blood Service’s stem cell register: completing a swab-kit or asking to join when making a blood donation. There are around 500 appointments available each month in the Pembrokeshire area. 

The festival takes place at Haverfordwest High VC School from 11am to 5.30pm on August 31 2024. Join in the celebration of music, community, and hope. 

Visit welshblood.org.uk or call 0800 252 266 to find out more about saving lives.

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Adam’s Bucketful of Hope is celebrating 30 years of fundraising with the Festival of Hope on Saturday, August 31, at Haverfordwest High School, with the Welsh Blood Service. Tickets available from www.purewestradio.com/news/posts/2024/august/adams-bucketful-of-hope-2024-featuring-the-voice-of-m-people-heather-small-haverfordwest/