A CHARITY set up by a Barry dad is continuing to come to the aid of local families, with more than £7000 going to help children in need over the last few weeks.

The JAM Fund - set up by Paul Adamson in memory of his five-year-old son Jamie - has been doing amazing work for more than 10 years, raising more than £400,000 to help children and their families.

Recently the charity has helped a three-year-old from Wenvoe who lost his legs to a viral illness, a three-year-old girl with cancer and a five-year-old with leukaemia.

Funds have also been given to a Rhoose volunteer-run parent/child homework support group and to help a local family who lost two daughters to Cystic Fibrosis.

Paul explained how the charity seeks out children in the local area who need help - a cause he took up after his son Jamie died in 2005 after a battle with leukaemia.

Every year on Jamie's birthday Paul releases balloons from his son's grave and last year each balloon had a message attached asking whoever found it to nominate a child in need.

One of the balloons has led to the charity helping three-year-old Perri Daniel-Jerram, from the Isle of Wight, who is battling cancer and recently underwent a full bone marrow transplant. The JAM sent £1000 worth of bedroom furniture to her family so they could decorate her bedroom as a pink princess room before she came home from hospital.

The charity also gave a £1000 donation to the family of Wenvoe three-year-old Romeo Hadley. The Hadleys have recently had to move into a bungalow to help with Romeo's mobility after he lost both his legs to a viral illness. The money was provided to help pay for a bedroom makeover for him and his sister.

Five-year-old James Shepherd from Barry, who has recently been through chemotherapy to treat his leukaemia, received a £1000 donation and Sebastian Sargent, a seven-year-old from Penarth with cerebral palsy received £2000 towards the cost of a specialist activity chair.

The Vale Parent/Child Homework Support Group in Rhoose) received the sum of £1200 for equipment and expenses, allowing the group to run for another 12 months.

Paul added that the fund also helped out families in Barry who had lost young children.

He said: "In total we spent £7200 on top of the funds donated earlier this year to three young families in Barry for headstones for their children.

"As a parent I know what it means to have a fitting memorial to your child or children and, although obviously it's very sad that it was needed, I am glad that the charity could help."

A JAM Fund fundraising evening will be taking place at Rhoose Social Club on Saturday, November 7 at 8pm featuring a drag act and disco.

Tickets are £5 and can be purchased by contacting jamfund@sky.com for details.