The annual Red for Ruth day will help raise awareness of the problems for parents and children when faced with tragedy and help that the Ruth Strauss Foundation offers. The Foundation was established by former England captain Sir Andrew Strauss in memory of his late wife, Ruth. She died of a non-smoking lung cancer in December 2018, aged just 46.

 

Strauss will be at Lord's on Friday, dressed in a red suit along with his sons Sam, 15, and Luca, 13, for the third 'Red for Ruth' day, which started during the 2019 Ashes Test followed by last year's Test against West Indies at Old Trafford. The charity stands with every family with a child facing the death of a parent, offering professional and emotional support to prepare for the future.

 

Friday's Red for Ruth campaign will raise awareness for the charity's new Family Support Service - a vital service that provides much-needed pre-bereavement support for families with dependent children, where a parent is told they don't have much longer to live, and helps families prepare for grief, death and dying. Without the right support, families can struggle to process grief, and can particularly affect children's future wellbeing.

 

Through Friday's initiative, the Foundation hopes to extend their support service to thousands of families nationwide plus launch its training programme for healthcare professionals. It is also championing the need for more research into non-smoking lung cancers.

 

The Red for Ruth has already received a vote of support from Sachin Tendulkar, who has signed 290 A4 prints of him celebrating the 2011 World Cup final victory and are put up for auction by the Foundation. The world-famous IMAX Cinema in London is also lit up in red in honour of the Red for Ruth day.