{"id":75979,"date":"2025-12-12T14:42:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=75979"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:46:07","slug":"meet-the-sheffield-brothers-spreading-joy-to-families-in-need-this-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/meet-the-sheffield-brothers-spreading-joy-to-families-in-need-this-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Sheffield brothers spreading joy to families in need this Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having undergone a life-saving bone marrow transplant four years ago, a 12-year-old boy has raised almost \u00a32,000 for the children and families who will be forced to celebrate their Christmas in hospital wards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea was born when Gabriel Brooks and his younger brother, Josh, 11, were encouraged to take part in an entrepreneurial challenge, along with other schoolchildren across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ‘BiG Challenge<\/a>‘ aims to get children thinking about the future by designing, making, and selling a product of their choice, while pocketing any profits made in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead of keeping the money, Gabriel was adamant that he wanted to donate all of their profits to PACT<\/a>, a South Yorkshire charity that provides support for families with children battling cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boys’ mother, Maria Panayi-Brooks, 49, from Stannington, said: “Gabriel was insistent that he wanted to do it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After much deliberation, the brothers decided that they would team up to create an array of Christmas decorations, using only up-cycled buttons and other, unwanted craft materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Gabriel’s time in hospital, Mrs Panayi-Brooks recalled how PACT went above and beyond to ensure that both her son and her family were looked after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The selfless youngster was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia four years ago, before eventually receiving a transplant through the Anthony Nolan Trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Gabriel has learnt that his donor travelled five hours to reach the transplant centre over the Christmas period, a trip that ultimately saved his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She did all that for someone she didn’t know and, without it, he wouldn’t have seen Christmas,” said Mrs Panayi-Brooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unable to leave her son’s side, the grateful mother explained that PACT volunteers would bring her breakfast and lunch everyday, along with a generous sack of presents on Christmas and birthdays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs Panayi-Brooks said: “We’re lucky enough to be at home this year, but that isn’t the case for some kids.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A selection of the Christmas decorations, hand-crafted by the boys. (Source: Maria Panayi-Brooks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The brothers have been overwhelmed by the response from their local community, after raising more than four times their original target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Gabriel wanted other children to have as nice a Christmas as possible,” said his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I honestly thought that we’d make about \u00a350 from family and friends and that would be it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel and Josh will be at the Banner Cross Market from 2.00pm on Sunday 14 December and continuing to sell their products via Mrs Panayi-Brooks’ Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to visit their JustGiving site. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 12-year-old boy who underwent a life-saving bone marrow transplant four years ago has raised almost \u00a32,000 for children and families who are forced to celebrate Christmas on a hospital ward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":273,"featured_media":75997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Sheffield brothers spreading joy to families in need this Christmas - Sheffield Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/meet-the-sheffield-brothers-spreading-joy-to-families-in-need-this-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Sheffield brothers spreading joy to families in need this Christmas - 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