After 30 years of fundraising Julie Kent MBE is making a final push for businesses and supporters to turn their promises into a reality.

The tireless charity campaigner has spent the last year working on her "swan song" appeal Emily's Gift to help families cope with the trauma of a childhood cancer diagnosis.

And now she needs people who have pledged to put the money in the bank.

The mission was to raise £500,000 in one year to provide a psychologist to support children undergoing treatment at the paediatric oncology unit at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and their families.

Julie lost her own three-year-old daughter Emily to a brain tumour in 1995 when mental health support was almost non-existent.

She pushed the "indescribable pain" down for years and instead she focussed on helping others and over three decades has raised thousands of pounds for charities.

Before she hung up her hat she wanted to ensure no parents had to go through their darkest hour without getting the emotional support they needed.

Her final campaign will end on Sunday (March 10) on what would have been Emily's 32nd birthday.

"We're so close to finishing and now we just need people to turn their promises into a reality and pay their pledges to get us over the line," said Julie.

"We need everyone who has said they will help to actually put that money in the bank so we can support these families."

Julie may be hanging upo her hat but she said there are many people fundraising over the following year and she is looking forward to  supporting them.

The cash still needs to keep rolling in to ensure psychologist Justine Davenport can continue her work for years to come. She began work five weeks ago at the Emily Kent Unit at the hospital.

Julie said: "That very first day she started I had mums text me. One said having her in a meeting made her feel so much more supported and that she just wanted to hug her and another said she can't believe it's actually happened.

"One mum from the unit has PTSD after three years of trying to balance one child with cancer and getting the other one to school and stuff.

"From now on none of them should be in that state because the psychologist will be working with families from the day they're diagnosed so they will have had support all the way along.

"She's going to make a massive difference."

"People keep saying I must be really proud but I'm just glad that the families are going to have this support so they won't have to suffer alone."

Working under the umbrella of the Pied Piper Charity, the £500,000 will secure the psychologist post for 10 years. Julie said the plan is that after that the benefits of the role will be more than proven and the NHS will take over funding.

There are currently 37 children receiving cancer treatment in the paediatric oncology unit set up in Emily's memory.

Julie said: "My worry now is will it be enough? If they've all got one sibling and two parents, that's already 150 people they're trying to deal with.

"I can see them needing another psychologist down the road."

Someone else will have to take on that challenge however, as Sunday will not only mark the end of the Emily's Gift campaign but also Julie's retirement from large-scale fundraising.

Her work began with raising money for equipment at the hospital and quickly snowballed into the formation of the Emily Kent Charitable Trust.

She has raised thousands of pounds for good causes including CLIC Sargent, Teenage Cancer Trust and Breast Cancer and in 2020 she was awarded an MBE for her services to charities.

Her roles have included chairman at Cheltenham Open Door and trustee at Goals Beyond Grass and she is currently vice chair at The Pied Piper Appeal.

And Julie is far from putting her feet up.

"I'm going to be warden of The Honourable Company of Gloucestershire from the middle of April for one year and then I'm going be the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire for a year. So then next few years are sorted," she said.

While it will feel strange to finally lay down the fundraising mantle it will also be a huge relief after so many years to be able to stop, have lie-ins, read books and reclaim Emily as simply her daughter.

"I feel like I've done a full circle," said Julie. "My fundraising started 30 years ago when we lost her and you can sort of celebrate milestones like what would have been their 18th and maybe 21st but after that you don't know what would have happened to them. You don't know if they would have gotten married or had children.

"Sunday would have been Emily's 32nd birthday and will be the end of the campaign and after that I think I will be like 'Yes, I've done everything'.

"I feel like I've absolutely done her proud."

For more information visit www.emilysgift.co.uk

Or to donate visit www.justgiving.com/page/emilysgift