It is always a joy to be able to thank so many supporters for their fund raising efforts and to read all about their events.
So I would like to share with you a selection of recent events which may inspire you to consider organising a CANCERactive fund raising activity in 2010.
Volunteer Regional Executive Sue Redmond, wrote the following about her Raw Chocolate Event:
I wanted to do something with a nutritional theme to raise funds for CANCERactive and after attending a raw chocolate workshop with holistic nutritionist Sam Marshall I thought it would make a good fundraising event. Sam the nutritionist, kindly agreed to run another workshop specifically for us but this time for a larger number of people. I hired a hall and aimed to sell 40 tickets using posters to advertise in supermarkets, local community centres and a local magazine. Thankfully the last ticket sold the day before the event.
To a packed hall, Sam the nutritionist explained the difference between raw chocolate and the processed stuff we are all used to. We learned that raw chocolate is packed with important nutrients, massive amounts of magnesium and even contains vitamin C. She demonstrated how easy and quick it is to make at home, creating chocolate bars and cakes that are also suitable for diabetics and those with dairy allergies. Following Sams demonstration which included information about the role of antioxidants in maintaining good health, we introduced the charity CANCERactive. We explained about the information it provides via its web site www.canceractive.com and its quarterly magazine icon.
The event raised 310 for CANCERactive. If anyone is interested in trying raw chocolate then Sam the nutritionist often runs workshops or you can buy a very reasonably priced starter kit from http://www.wellnecessities.co.uk/
Jules Burrell, CANCERactive Fundraiser, describes her experiences:
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This year I completed two firsts, my first ever triathlon and first ever trail race, to raise money for the excellent charity CANCERactive.
I completed the Penrith triathlon with fellow team mates, Jo Brabbins and Simon Young, also triathlon virgins. Our team name Tri-umph pretty much summed us up, as we swam up and down Penrith pool, cycled the hills of the gorgeous Eden Valley and ran around the grounds of Ullswater Community College in Penrith.
A few weeks later I was running up the fells above Keswick with the likes of Ron Hill MBE, on a 14km trail race, slip sliding through bog and having the time of my life not bad for a 2 cancer survivor.
I started running in the last month of chemo 3 years ago, I just wanted to do something that made me feel alive again and thanks to the Chinese herbs, acupuncture, diet, advice from Patricia Peat at Cancer Options and all the great info on the CANCERactive website, I was feeling fit enough to give it a go.
Ive been running on and off ever since then. I love the freedom running brings, being out in nature, watching the seasons change and never knowing what I might see next, a stoat, badger, hare or flock of lapwings. For such an active sport I find a great stillness within as I run along the country lanes and fells on the edge of the Lake District. Ill never be a Paula Radcliffe, but Im just happy plodding along with a song in my heart!
Volunteer Regional Executive Ruth Epps completed the challenging Three Peaks Event and writes the following:
Just to let you know that we completed the challenge. It was absolutely gruelling and were all hobbling around like a bunch of old crocs today. The last peak - Ben Nevis was 4 hours up starting at 2.30a.m. in torrential rain and high winds. Coming down took another 3 hours. The first two, Snowdon and Scafel Pike werent too bad. Were still fund raising and will continue till Christmas then will let you have our donation altogether.
STOWE SUB AQUA CLUB 24 Hour Underwater Twister Charity Dive
Well it all started out as a mumbled thought over a pint.
Why dont we do something for charity? Itll give the club a focus and raise money.
Yeah, but what?
What about a 24 hour sponsored dive relays of people in the water for a whole day and night?
Good idea but we need something to capture the imagination to get people interested.
Silence while good ideas were mulled over, occasionally interrupted by more beer being supplied and oddball suggestions being floated. Perhaps in desperation, or more like born of the It seemed a good idea at the time school of thought, underwater Twister was unanimously agreed as the thing to grip the nation and, to make it spicier, we decided to attempt to beat the world record for playing Twister underwater. So the snowball started to roll.
Which charity? Easy I said I work for CANCERactive and they do great work and are based locally to Buckingham so it would have a local appeal.
Which pool? The Swan Pool in Buckingham had hosted club try dive events so was an obvious candidate. When asked, they were more than willing and provided the accommodation, over night staff and prizes for the raffle.
Then of course the acid questions, Is it possible to play Twister underwater? What is the current world record? How are we going to advertise? Where are we going to get sponsors? and the list went on. Time to adjourn with various tasks assigned for follow up.
Over the following weeks we gained permission to use the Twister trade name (but the company, Hasbro, failed to produce the games that they promised as raffle prizes!), the world record was identified (nobody had ever tried before I wonder why?) and potential sponsors were discovered.
The biggest challenge was to devise ways in which to play the game. The mat had to be weighted down so a frame was constructed on to which weights could be attached. The spinner didnt work underwater so we made new ones that did a better job. But it was the diving equipment that caused most concern. I guess everybody would appreciate that each player would need an air supply. Normally this would be strapped to ones back on a buoyancy jacket but it was all too difficult with that lot on to play the game. So we had to devise another way of playing.
Fortunately we had an offer from a company called Miflex to supply long, flexible hoses which we could connect to the air tanks and this meant that we did not have to wear the jackets and tanks and that made the game much more reasonable.
The rest, as they say, is history. We managed to get a full schedule of divers from the club; well over 50 people were involved in playing the game. In the end we started diving and Twisting at 3 pm on Saturday 5 September - our official starter was John Bercow, The Speaker of the House of Commons - and finished at 3pm on Sunday 6 September we Twisted for a full 24 hours.
But much more importantly than that, we raised a staggering 2455.70 for CANCERactive.