Luxury cruise retailer Panache Cruises has pledged to raise at least 拢50,000 for a charity inspired by a 23-month-old boy who died of a brain tumour.
聽was set up by parents Nicola and Mike Graham to support families with complexly poorly children and families of child loss.
Reuben passed away in 2012 from an aggressive brain tumour whilst on a family holiday in Devon.
Now James Cole, CEO of tech-enabled Panache Cruises, has decided to mark his recent 50th聽birthday by raising at least 拢50,000 for the charity.
The fundraising will include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in June with the money going towards the charity鈥檚 attempts to raise the 拢1m needed to聽create four self-catering suites.
Cole said:聽鈥淲e鈥檝e supported Reuben鈥檚 Retreat for a number of years but I turned 50 in February and I wanted to do something special this year and could think of no better cause than Reuben鈥檚 Retreat.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e currently in the process of trying to raise more than 拢1m to finish off the retreat in Glossop by renovating four family apartments.
鈥淲e鈥檝e committed to raising at least 拢50,000 this year for them but we鈥檙e confident we can raise quite a bit more.
鈥淧anache Cruises is five years old in 2025 so it seemed like the right thing to do.鈥�
As part of the fundraising, Panache Cruises has agreed to donate 拢10 for every single booking they make in 2025 and ask customers if they鈥檒l do the same.
Cole said: 鈥淟ast year we had 3,000 bookings so that would be 拢30,000 straight away even before a contribution from our customers.鈥�
In addition more than a dozen staff have signed up to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in June.
Cole said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 about challenging yourself. We鈥檝e asked the people who have signed up to raise at least 拢5,000 each for Reuben’s Retreat.
鈥淲e recognise that not everyone is able to commit to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro so we鈥檝e decided to organise a local event to Rivington Pike on Winter Hill.鈥�
The Chorley-based company had a record-breaking 2024, growing turnover by more than 50 per cent to over 拢25m.
Reuben’s mum Nicola is the CEO and founder of聽Reuben’s Retreat and said she was 鈥榟umbled鈥� by the company鈥檚 generosity.
She said: 鈥淲e promise to spend and invest every single penny wisely; in support of the families, we are so honoured to walk with.
鈥淭hank you to the entire team at Panache Cruises for bringing their awesome energies to our cause, so that in turn we may continue our vital work supporting children that may face an uncertain future and families after child loss.
鈥淲e are actively supporting over 750+ individuals. Every penny raised goes towards this work, as we cost around 拢40k a month to open our doors for support.
鈥淎ny surplus goes into our build fund which secures our future renovation and vision.
鈥淭he more we raise, the more we renovate and the more we renovate the more families we reach.鈥�
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