Jak Neil Walter Trueman was a normal happy healthy teenager, who enjoyed playing in goals with his local and county school football team, and playing tuba in his school band until August 2014 when he took suddenly and seriously ill. Devastatingly Jak was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer: Gamma Delta T-Cell Lymphoma.
Five months later, Jak, aged 15, gained his wings.
Throughout his illness, Jak demonstrated a remarkable strength and positivity and showed extraordinary courage and selflessness. He raised nearly £100,000 for various cancer charities including CLIC, Sick Kids Friends Foundation, Bloodwise and Comic Relief while he was ill.
His desire to create a positive legacy grew, and six days before he died, Jak unveiled plans to support other young people walking the same journey.
He called his charity Team Jak and charged his Mum, Allison, with the job of building it and creating Jak’s Den – a purpose-built facility where young cancer patients and those with related illnesses, and their families and friends, could go to escape from the traumas of treatment and have fun in a clean and safe environment.
Located in Livingston, Scotland, Jak’s Den is now an important facility offers emotional, social and practical support to children and young people age 0-25 with cancer and related illnesses from all over Scotland.
Patients, as well as families and friends, can come to Jak’s Den during opening hours, or by appointment at any other time. They have drop-in sessions, music therapy, counselling, pamper days, alternative therapies, activity days including cake decorating, puppet making, magic shows, teen days (including Xbox and PS4 challenges) arts and crafts, coffee mornings, bespoke support groups for all, homework support and much more. The latest addition to their offering is a state of the art immersive cinema room.
They also provide outreach services to homes and hospitals for children and families unable to visit a Den.
https://www.teamjak.org.uk/
It was through Russell Taylor of Midwich (Jak’s cousin) that I first heard about Team Jak. Once Russell had told me about Jak and how Team Jak came about I wanted to help as best I could. Russell introduced me to Allison Barr, Jak’s Mum, who set up and runs the Team Jak Foundation, and we had a Zoom meeting on Tuesday May 16th, 2023.
This meeting also included Russell from Midwich and we quickly agreed that there was really only one room that might be suitable for a cinema facility.
With Team Jak being located in Livingston, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, there was no option but to find a good local installer, and one that understood the journey of Together For Cinema and of course was capable of creating an amazing room whilst working around care and logistical limitations.
With the comprehensive coverage of our activity I had been approached in the past by Stuart Lillis of Limitless Automation, an installer in the Edinburgh area. Little did I know that he actually lived a few miles away from Jak’s Den!
It was at the beginning of December 2023 that I met Stuart Lillis, though not at Jak’s Den, we actually met at Robin House Children’s Hospice in Balloch, just north of Glasgow, as Stuart had originally expressed an interest in helping with this installation. However, shortly before our meeting the Team Jak installation became a possibility and even though Stuart was happy to help at Robin House it became clear that Stuart should take on the installation at Jak’s Den and Loud and Clear would kindly take on the Robin House installation. Both installers knew each other well and offered to help on both installations if required. As it turned out Stuart was able to complete the work at Jak’s Den himself and the end result is fabulous!
With Team Jak being a 7 hour train journey away I have not yet been able to visit. However, I will of course attend the opening which will be at the beginning of September 2024.
As an alternative to a face to face site visit I had a video call with Allison Barr, the Founder of the Team Jak Foundation, and this took place in May 2023, as outlined above. This meeting was positive and productive and Allison and I agreed that there was only one room that we could possibly install a cinema facility into. This being their studio area.
The room had challenges, as almost all of the rooms that we install into have, but all challenges are there to be overcome, and with Stuart on board I was confident that the installation would be a smooth one.
Stuart visited the site early in January and was keen to help, and keen to make the cinema room happen as soon as he could. Being so local to him he was aware of the wonderful work that the Foundation does and how important Jak’s Den is to his community, and way beyond.
With the room having certain limitations it limited what we could deliver, for example a Starscape twinkly light ceiling was not possible. A shame as every time this has been installed it’s given the children the ‘wow factor’. However, with some cunning control and other great products Stuart was able to design a room that would deliver a great audio and video immersive experience. To simplify it was projection onto a fixed frame screen, however, we all know that there’s a lot more to creating a great viewing experience!
Thanks must go to all the suppliers listed below that helped make this happen.
With a few products in storage at the AWE warehouse in Epsom (thanks again Stuart Tickle for storing and distributing all our kit!) and the others an email or a phone call away, we quickly had all the items committed and on their way up to Scotland. One or two mailing issues led to a couple of delays but a huge thank you to all concerned with making these deliveries a priority, and helping when we had ‘delivery challenges’!
Yet again an ambitious kit list was willingly donated by all concerned and we are hugely grateful, though I suspect not as grateful as the children, families and care teams that will enjoy it for years to come…
Friday 21st June, 2024.
Wednesday 3rd July, 2024.
This took place on Tuesday 3rd September, 2024, and bearing in mind the location in Scotland, it was a small affair with myself, Stuart Lillis, Allison Barr and Russel Taylor from Midwich, plus a couple of the Team Jak care team.
We met at 8.30am and this was my first visit to Team Jak, and I have to admit that I was blown away by what Allison has achieved. A wonderful facility serving hundreds of local families. Jak, her son, would have been incredibly proud of what his Mum has achieved…
The cinema room itself looks and sounds amazing. Bearing in mind the room has many uses such as a dance studio, craft room, play area etc…, Stuart from Limitless Automation installed a discreet but stunning AV experience that is already being used and enjoyed by so many of the families that visit Jak’s Den.
I left feeling inspired and happy that we’ve been able to help. These are the good days and this new room will really bring so much joy and create so many happy memories.
”Being aware of Together for Cinema for some years now, I had been keen to help out on a project at some point, but after the heartbreak of losing my Brother to Cancer late in 2022 I knew I had to reach out and get involved.
After initially looking at another project with Ian, Team Jak naturally fell into the conversation and it immediately made sense. A huge thank you to Allan Boyd and Barry Christie at Loud and Clear for stepping in on the first project at Robin House Children’s Hospice in Balloch, who I'm confident will create something amazing for them.
Being based fairly local to Team Jak, I see some of the incredible work that they do first hand, and how they reach out to help in the local and wider community. To the point my daughter was already a big collector of Team Jak merchandise including her Team Jak night time water bottle.
Getting some time with Allison I quickly realised that the summer period would be a very active period for Team Jak so we made the decision to push things forward and get the room open for them as soon as we could, so that those that need a little more magic in their lives got the opportunity - call me cheesy but I firmly believe cinema is magic and can transport you away for a few hours, often when you need it most!
The room itself was also a little different from the amazing cinema systems Together for Cinema usually get involved with. On my first visit it became clear this was a lively space that was used as everything from a dance studio, to a crafting station and now amazing movie space. Things like traditional cinema seating, and blackout shading just wouldn't have worked here so we had to think a little out of the box on this one, so utilising equipment like the NAD AVR with excellent built in music streaming means the room can sing whether kids are working on their dance moves or travelling to Gryffindor with Harry Potter.
This timeline made things a little more intense, and I'm sure Ian won't miss me calling to chase this and that component but it was absolutely worth it in the end.
Dropping in on Team Jak like this also allowed me to see intimately the incredible work they do and the truly inspiring staff and volunteers they have working there. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a tear or two shed on the way home after a day’s work there.
Allison and Ian, please, please, please keep on doing what you are doing - keep bringing a little more magic into people’s life who need a little.”
Stuart Lillis, Director, Limitless Automation
”We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen to benefit from the fabulous Together For Cinema project. What an incredible project and thank you to everyone who has donated to make this happen and to Ian Morrish and Stuart Lillis for their hard work in bringing it all together.
A simple visit to a cinema for our families is not always possible due to treatment and other challenges, and it’s just another thing they have to miss out on. Having this amazing new cinema room at Jak’s Den means families can still go to the movies during treatment and feel safe whilst enjoying a normal family activity.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone involved but a huge shout out to Stuart for working so hard to get it completed in time for Summer. We have already watched some fabulous films and can’t wait to watch more!
Thank you just doesn’t seem enough…, but thank you…, to all involved in making this happen. X.”
Hazel McLinden, Director of Services, Team Jak Foundation
THANK YOU…, you have helped make a real difference at Jak’s Den, and in turn, have made a real difference to so many people’s lives.
For the Team Jak Foundation this new cinema room at Jak’s Den brings the big screen experience, along with immersive audio and wonderful lighting in house, and adds another quality offering to their families. At a normal paid for cost of just over £25,000 it’s undoubtedly something that they would never normally have been able to install.
This was Together for Cinema’s 45th good cause cinema room installation and helped take the Together for Cinema good cause community delivery to over £1.15m worth of installations, had they all been paid for.
As we all know for a charitable facility such as Jak’s Den and the Team Jak Foundation, funding is limited. The opportunity to buy luxury AV equipment and employ the services of an excellent AV installer is simply not possible as there are so many other essentials that are needed before luxuries like a cinema room can even be considered.
Bringing the movie experience into Team Jak at no cost to the Foundation is a gift that our industry should be proud of. Cinema Therapy is important and it’s wonderful that our industry is able to work together to bring this to yet another good cause that make a difference to so many children and their families.
In closing, another huge thank you to Stuart Lilis from Limitless Automation. This was a local installation for him and his incredible commitment from the start was comprehensive and considerate. Sadly, we’re not able to pay any fees…, but I hope the ‘feel good’ factor of being involved in such a project, and making a difference to so many lives, is worth more than any monetary reward.
For further details please contact Ian Morrish at:-
Work: 01372 454366 ♦ Mobile: 07768 398007 ♦ Email: ian@ad-con.uk
www.togetherforcinema.co.uk
Report Created by Ian Morrish. All quotes to be from Ian Morrish, unless otherwise stated.
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