The final line up for Race Against Blood Cancer’s 1st Anniversary party was confirmed on the weekend.
With performances ranging from amazing house, UK Garage and Hip Hop DJs as well as live singers, the 6th August promises to be unforgettable, with Norris Da Boss Windross & MC Creed as the main headline at Kamio, Red Gallery, Shoreditch.
Tickets are selling out fast. If you haven’t already, do so now for just £10 https://billetto.co.uk/en/events/thefutureisnow
Buy your tickets and get read for a crazy night filled with positive energy and great people.
Ben Westwood, a dedicated fundraiser from Race Against Blood Cancer joined forces with Birmingham Children’s Hospital fundraisers to take on, and smash, the 3 Peaks Challenge in 24h.
On Saturday 16th July at 6AM, the team set out from Shropshire on the arduous challenge of climbing the highest mountains of Scotland, England and Wales in 24 hours, covering an estimated 44 km, with a total ascent of 9800 feet and not to mention the 1109 miles that were covered by the support crew in the mini bus.
Starting off at the bottom of Ben Nevis at 5PM, they had around 5 hours to complete the ascent before heading back down to the van and make their way to peak number two. The weather was not on their side. Winds blowing a gale, heavy rain pouring down and forecast throughout definitely was a challenge. Temperatures also dropped -7 C at the summit on this mid-July date. It seemed like anything but a nice summer’s afternoon for a stroll! Enduring horizontal rain coming at them from all angles and temperatures that seemed to drop with every footstep taken, Ben Nevis was by far their longest and most difficult challenge in the competition due to the conditions.
Despite the negatives, they did come home with a few notable moments which included helping pull up a fellow hiker from a fall half way down a steep bank as she held on for dear life before a few members of the team ran to the rescue. Or, on the way down witnessing one of the mountain rescue team’s quads going off track down a gully with the driver needing to jump off! But, despite the dramas, the team made it in just over 5 hours.
Ben Nevis done, they quickly pushed on through the night with a 6 hour drive to Scafell Pike where dry weather and slightly warmer temperatures awaited them. Scafell Pike was checked off and climbed in just over 3 hours. Besides the very sore legs, serious cramps creeping in and the painfully slow bacon butty van at the bottom that they had to pay a visit to, the trek definitely included less drama.
The team’s third and final peak was Mount Snowden in Wales and was probably the easiest of the three. Wales didn’t disappoint as the sun shun bright and the temperatures a delight. Ditching the hiking boots and donning the trainers, shorts and T-shirts, the team completed the peak in just under 3 hours before doubling it in at a canter over the finish line.
The 3 Peak Challenge in 24 hours was completed!
Massive thanks to the entire team and all the individuals that sponsored and supported us throughout the event. It’s not too late to give generously. Follow the link – https://www.gofundme.com/24ksmqc
A year has passed since we became an official charity. And what a year it has been with so many smiles, stories and achievements. And we would love to celebrate with you.
On 6th August, we will be celebrating our first anniversary at Red Gallery in Shoreditch. It promises to be an amazing night with loads of great acts, amazing people and cool vibes.
With a diverse night of entertainment ranging from live music featuring rock, pop and soul, great acts like Norris ‘Da Boss’ Windross & MC Creed and some of London’s best funky house, RnB, hip-hop and UK garage DJs we’re expecting a sell-out.
Early bird tickets are currently on sale and going quickly so make sure you get your ticket soon https://billetto.co.uk/en/events/thefutureisnow and come and enjoy an amazing night full of surprises.
We will also be giving all of those of you who have not yet signed up as a donor the opportunity to do so as we continue to look for a match for Tommy.
We look forward to seeing you and all your friends and family there for an unforgettable celebration!
Colourful. Fun. Informative. Educational. And Positive – these are the adjectives that describe the Carribbean Culture Festival that Race Against Blood Cancer attended on 3rd July.
Thanks to a few connections and good words on the work that we have done so far, we were kindly invited to join the celebrations at Millennium Hotel on Gloucester Road and run a donor drive as part of the Match4Tommy campaign.
The drive was a roaring success and allowed us to go home fuelled with smiles, love and energy as we managed to sign up 70 new donors to the register, what more with no prior advertising. But thanks to the captive audience, brilliant event organisers and the microphone that we were given to go on stage and talk about our work, our vision and why signing up was so important, we were able to win everyone’s hearts.
As a family friendly environment, a number of people came up to us and mentioned how they felt the Match4Tommy appeal was so important and that it was one of the contributing factors as to why they signed up.
As part of the event, Race Against Blood Cancer was surrounded by great performances, brilliant food and amazing people.
We can’t wait to take part in the event again next year and would like to say a massive thank you to Natasha, Eon and everyone else who helped make the day possible and supported us throughout.
Race Against Blood Cancer joins the government backed NCS programme which helps provide students with valuable skills for life.
The National Citizen Service (NCS) is an experience that any 15 to 18 year-old doesn’t want to miss! And with more than 200,000 young people signed up every year, Race Against Blood Cancer and the team were eager to play their part.
So, on Tuesday 5th July, Joe Bates and Alex Morrison traveled to Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands to deliver the first of a four days’ worth of workshops to those enrolled on to the programme.
Giving young people the chance to embark on exhilarating challenges, make a mark and build skills for work and life, this hugely valuable initiative sees young people across the country effectively volunteer their summer to develop a social action project which can have a positive impact on their community.
Joe and Alex delivered four workshops throughout the day to 80 participants. The workshops raised awareness of different types of blood cancer, treatments available and the need for more donors on the registry – especially people from an ethnic minority and mixed heritage background.
On the day the groups were also taught how to carry out a donor drive, with the hope that many of the young volunteers will run their own donor drives over the summer to support Race Against Blood Cancer’s aim of registering another 3,000 potential lifesaving donors before Christmas.
Alex Morrison, the charities Community Engagement lead said “it was a fantastic day and we spoke with some really motivated and enthusiastic young people. They were a credit to the staff and we really hope that they can now go away and help us reach our targets. We will certainly help them in any way we can and I’m excited to deliver more workshops over the coming months”.
Jemma Knight, NCS Coach was equally as pleased with how well the students embraced the day “The young people were really inspired from the workshop, they found the talk interesting and some of the group have already set their sights on running a Donor drive as their social action project. We had a young girl within the group who suffers from a blood condition herself, and she said she felt encouraged throughout and really enjoyed the session”.
If you feel that you or someone you know would like to organise or attend a Race Against Blood Cancer workshop, please contact us at info@raceagainstbloodcancer.com
