Meet the Jewish philanthropist who has taken thousands of sick kids to Disneyland

The first trip included 50 cabs and some 100 children; now doubled in size, the tour includes 100 cabs and 200 children each year, plus medical backup, ambulances and police escorts.

The taxi convoy departs for Disneyland Paris from Canary Wharf. (Photo: Nicky Bamber and Chris Mathison.)[Missing Credit]

Davis, a member of Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue, said he must raise £200,000 to fund the annual excursion, covering accommodation and food for upwards of 425 people across the weekend, but thanks to sponsorship from a variety of companies, petrol and spending money for the children are covered.

“So many people want to be on board that fortunately for us we’re not struggling,” said Davis. “After Covid I was really worried, because when you stop something it’s hard to build up momentum, get your old supporters back, but fortunately during Covid we kept contact with them, so we know that the trip is good at least for the next two to three years.

“We raise a lot of money in the back of taxis as well – when you look at the tip-up seats opposite you, we advertise our charity and there’s a QR code that takes you straight into a donate page on JustGiving,” Davis said. “Honestly, in nine months, we’ve raised £23,000 from people who sit in the back of taxis.”

Children smile en route to Disneyland Paris as part of the Magical Taxi Tour, founded by Phil Davis. (Photo: Nicky Bamber and Chris Mathison)[Missing Credit]

Davis, who remains a trustee of WCHCD’s Charitable Trust, said the trip has taken about 6,000 children to Disneyland since it began, but the stories of each child and their family remain with him.

“We had a child who we know was in palliative care, so he came on the trip and his mother said, ‘let him do whatever he wants in Disney.’ We came back on the Sunday night and on Wednesday morning the mother phoned me to say unfortunately, her son had died,” Davis recalled. “She said, ‘We knew this was going to happen, but after he’d been three times around Space Mountain, he came off with a smile that I'd never seen, and I have a photo of that, which is a memory of the weekend’, and that makes all the difference why we do it: it’s happy memories for the parents.”

Davis said receiving an MBE was a surprise “because a lot of people look for recognition and I don’t.

“Life just goes on – I'm quite happy just to keep doing this,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect anything for what I do, just a smile on the faces of the kids.”