Local pub helps 7-year-old Amealia Kolpa in bid to break UK birthday card record

Louise Mason, the Bridge Inn, Sandiacre.

By Esther Oganya and Helen Purcell

A seven-year-old girl battling cancer is aiming to break a UK record and a Sandiacre pub is helping her do it.

Amealia Kolpa, from Rowley Regis in the Black Country, has announced her dream of receiving 8,000 birthday cards for her eighth birthday on March 3. She hopes to break the UK record for opening the most birthday cards.

Amealia has been in and out of hospital since she was two and a half, fighting neuroblastoma, a rare type of cancer that impacts children. She is now in palliative care.

After hearing about her wish, pubs and restaurants in her local area rallied behind her and helped source more than 40,000 cards from the community.

One of those venues is The Hob Meadow in Solihull, West Midlands, the sister site of Sandiacre pub The Bridge Inn.

Louise Mason, who runs The Bridge Inn with her partner Leigh, told Erewash Sound she heard about Amealia’s birthday wish via The Hob Meadow’s Facebook page and immediately wanted to involve the local community.

The couple were particularly moved by Amealia’s fight due to their own personal experiences. Louise told Erewash Sound: “Myself and my partner have both had family that have gone through similar things, I lost my mum just before Christmas to cancer but I think sometimes you know when it’s children, it hits you a bit harder.”

She added that they “thought we’d jump on board and see what our community can do to help a little girls dream come true”.

Louise explained that she and Leigh are “very big behind charity events” and “have done a lot in the past here”, including hosting an event to raise money for PKAN, a rare neurodegenerative disease.

So far, The Bridge Inn has received more than 100 birthday cards for Amealia, and more are expected before they are sent off. Some people have also included small gifts for her birthday.

Louise said the pub will continue collecting cards until the very last minute. She added: “if anyone wants to get involved just drop a card over to us and we’ll get it over to where it needs to go”.

In true community spirit, Louise also wanted to give special recognition to others who have helped make Amealia’s dream a reality.

She highlighted the work of the new inclusive Sandiacre football team, Ballers, who have helped collect cards.

Additionally, Louise said: “[we] think that Matt Lemm needs a shoutout…they’ve managed to get 80,000 to 90,000 cards together… so I think they deserve a real big shout out”.

Louise added that Matt Lemm and the bikers are always welcome at The Bridge Inn if they would like to host any events in the area.