Category Archives: Events

Carl Ikeme’s BIG Race Against Blood Cancer

December 11, 2019Carl Ikeme, Challenge, Events, Fundraiser, News & updates, Stem Cell DonationCarl Ikeme, Challenge, Diversity, events, Fundraising, upcoming eventsJulie Child

We are delighted to be working with former professional goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, on a huge challenge for 2020. Carl, along with a group of other fundraisers, will be taking on a huge 555 mile cycle challenge across England to raise funds for the charity and awareness of the issues surrounding stem cell registration – especially among the BAME community.

As Carl says: “After my own diagnosis with leukaemia back in 2017, I discovered that my treatment options would be limited due to the lack of ethnic diversity on the stem cell register. Race Against Blood Cancer is trying to change all that; I’ve been involved with the team for more than a year now and so wanted to take on a challenge to raise funds and awareness, as well as creating opportunities to increase the number of potential stem cell donors on the register.

Though I was signed to Wolverhampton Wanderers for my entire career, I also played on loan for a number of other clubs and this gave me an idea. Building on the training I did for a recent bike ride, I’m planning to cycle 555 miles in six days, stopping off at all the clubs I represented during my career.

I’ll start at Middlesbrough on Monday 4 May, before winding my way down (and then back up!) the country, finishing at Wolves during half time on Saturday 9 May. The route I’ll take is as follows:

A map showing Carl's route — A map showing Carl’s route

Day 1 (4 May) Middlesbrough – Accrington Stanley – Stockport County TOTAL 132 miles
Day 2 (5 May) Stockport County – Doncaster Rovers – Sheffield United TOTAL 83 miles
Day 3 (6 May) Sheffield United – Leicester City – Northampton (rest stop) TOTAL 110 miles
Day 4 (7 May) Northampton (rest stop) – Charlton Athletic – QPR TOTAL 90 miles
Day 5 (8 May) QPR – Southam (rest stop) TOTAL 90 miles
Day 6 (9 May) Southam (rest stop) – Wolves TOTAL 50 miles”
If you wish to sponsor Carl, please visit his fundraising page at www.virginmoneygiving.com/carlikeme or for more information about the event contact us

Interested in Sponsoring this event? Corporate Sponsorship Brochure RABC 2020

Tagged under - December 11, 2019Carl Ikeme, Challenge, Events, Fundraiser, News & updates, Stem Cell DonationCarl Ikeme, Challenge, Diversity, events, Fundraising, upcoming eventsJulie Child

Wolves legend – Carl Ikeme – is playing his part for our charity dinner event

July 3, 2019Awards, Celebration, Events, Fundraising, News & updatesawards, Carl Ikeme, celebration, Dinner, Fundraising, Race Against Blood Cancer, upcoming events, WolvesJulie Child

We are delighted to announce that Wolves legend, Carl Ikeme, is supporting our ‘Be The One’ fundraising dinner taking place this Autumn.

Being held on Friday 6^th September at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton and hosted by Lynsey Hooper of Sky Sports fame, the event promises to be a must for our supporters – as well as any Wolves fan.

As well as hearing Carl speak about his work with the charity, for just £40 guests can enjoy entertainment, a three course meal and an auction of money-can’t-buy items, as well as raising valuable funds for the charity’s work.

As Carl says ‘Race Against Blood Cancer might be small, but it has huge ambition. After my own diagnosis with leukaemia back in 2017, I discovered that my treatment options would be limited due to the lack of ethnic diversity on the stem cell register. The charity is trying to change all that; I’ve been involved with the team for more than a year now and I’m delighted that they’ve asked me to support this event to raise funds and awareness for their continuing work”.

We are also delighted to announce that Eleanor Smith, MP for Wolverhampton South West, will be presenting our inaugural supporter awards at the event, where individuals and companies will be celebrated for their incredible efforts on the charity’s behalf.

All the money raised from the dinner event will help us to continue our work to raise awareness of stem cell donation and to increase the numbers and ethnic diversity of potential donors on the stem cell register.

If you are interested in buying tickets for the event, please visit our ticketing website here. However, if you’d like further information about the event or would like to know more about the sponsorship opportunities available then please contact Julie on julie.child@raceagainstbloodcancer.com

Carl Ikeme (centre) with some of the Race Against Blood Cancer team

Guests at the last charity fundraising dinner

Tagged under - July 3, 2019Awards, Celebration, Events, Fundraising, News & updatesawards, Carl Ikeme, celebration, Dinner, Fundraising, Race Against Blood Cancer, upcoming events, WolvesJulie Child

Record London donor drive

May 17, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donationblood cancer, donor, donor drive, donor registration, London, Race Against Blood Cancer, saving lives, stem cell donorJulie Child

This week saw the team do their first donor drive with Starcom, who are based in the BBC Televison centre in White City London.

The team set up for two days due to the number of occupants in the building and it was well worth it. There was a steady flow of people over the course of the event and everyone there was helpful and friendly.

In the end they managed to sign up a whopping 266 people!!!!! This is an incredible number and couldnt have been acheived without all the help we received. A massive thank you to Amy Kean and Lorena Di Lello for organising the event, Jayde Jarret, Ellis Parsons, Sarah Robson, Neville, Darren and Alex for helping out over the course of the two days. A special thank you to Emily Carroll from Homeslice for providing us with food over the two days and everyone who came down to sign up and continues to raise awareness.

Two of the Starcom team that signed up at the event

Tagged under - May 17, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donationblood cancer, donor, donor drive, donor registration, London, Race Against Blood Cancer, saving lives, stem cell donorJulie Child

URGENT – Can you help Ihsan find a donor?

April 30, 2019Donor Drive, Events, Patient Appeal, Patient Story, Stem Cell Donationdonor registration, drive, events, Ihsan Khan, Midlands, patient appeal, saving lives, stem cell donor, upcoming eventsJulie Child

Six year old Ihsan Khan, from the Telford area, urgently needs a stem cell/bone marrow match to help treat his Aplastic Anaemia.

We are working with Ihsan’s family to recruit potential donors at events being held this week. These being:

Friday 3 May 2019 4.30-7.30pm
Jamia Masjid Ghousia, Regent Street, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1PF

Saturday 4 May 2019 – 12-3pm
Telford Central Mosque 88-90 King Street, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1NZ

If you are unable to get to either event but still want to sign up, you can do so here. Please help: even if you aren’t a match for Ihsan, you could be for one of the other 2,000 people in the UK currently waiting for a match.

Photo shows Ihsan Khan and his Mum Assia

Tagged under - April 30, 2019Donor Drive, Events, Patient Appeal, Patient Story, Stem Cell Donationdonor registration, drive, events, Ihsan Khan, Midlands, patient appeal, saving lives, stem cell donor, upcoming eventsJulie Child

Our newest volunteer – Rebecca Richards

April 18, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donation, Thank you, Volunteeringdonor drive, donor registration, events, Midlands, saving lives, volunteeringJulie Child

Our grateful thanks to Rebecca Richards – the newest member of our volunteering team -who ran her first two donor drives for us last week. Her first took place at Bloor Homes (Midlands branch) where she signed up 20 potential stem cell donors and she then registered a further 20 at Sunday’s UK Triathlon Events Birmingham Run. Many thanks to Rebecca for a great week of sign ups, those who allowed us to host our donor drives and to all those potential lifesavers who registered with us.

We would also like to show our appreciation to Amie, James, Jen and Afy for volunteering their time last week and helping to help raise awareness of the work we do. Thank you everyone!

If you’d like to find out more about volunteering for the charity and running your own donor drives on our behalf, please contact us.

Tagged under - April 18, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donation, Thank you, Volunteeringdonor drive, donor registration, events, Midlands, saving lives, volunteeringJulie Child

Race Against Blood Cancer hosts donor drive at Sikh Temple

April 17, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updatesdonor drive, eventsJulie Child

Thank you to the Darbar Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in Walsall for a wonderful experience on Saturday where we went along to register potential stem cell donors.

We’d also like to show appreciation to our team Gemma Elsmore, Sophie Gemma, Beth Elsmore and Joanne Wade for giving up their time on the day to help spread awareness and register potential lifesavers!

Tagged under - April 17, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updatesdonor drive, eventsJulie Child

Race Against Blood Cancer remembers Khaleel with fundraising event in his name

August 5, 2018Events, Fundraiser, Patient Storyblood cancer, events, Fundraising, past eventRace Against Blood Cancer

Last Saturday Race Against Blood Cancer hosted the ‘Remembering Khaleel’ fundraiser event in memory of young Telford boy Khaleel Khan who sadly lost his life following a battle with Leukaemia last year.

Despite the heavy down pours throughout the day, the event was a massive success with a fantastic turnout and huge support from the community. Khaleel’s little sister Simra volunteered for a sponsored hair cut which also took place on Saturday – she raised over £300 for the charity as well as donating her hair to the ‘The Little Princess Trust’ to make wigs for children with cancer. It was an emotional and proud moment for the family, combined with such a lovely atmosphere which was a touching tribute to Khaleel.

We would like to say a massive thank you to Duke York Trench pub in Telford for hosting; the performers, those who donated equipment, raffle prizes and promotional material, and all of the community who turned out to support the event. We would also like to thank all of the Race Against Blood Cancer volunteers for their help on the day and our community engagement officer Gemma Elsmore for organising such a memorable day for Khaleel’s friends and family. Over £1300 was raised which will enable us to continue our work in growing and diversifying the blood stem cell donor register.

Gemma also reached her personal target of registering 1000 donors since starting with the charity last summer – we are proud of her achievement which gives hope to many patients waiting for life saving transplants.

Tagged under - August 5, 2018Events, Fundraiser, Patient Storyblood cancer, events, Fundraising, past eventRace Against Blood Cancer

Insteps Dance Academy and Fullout Dance Academy hold annual show

July 9, 2018Events, Fundraiser, News & updatesblood cancer, Charity, events, Fundraising, Midlands, past event, rabc, Race Against Blood CancerRace Against Blood Cancer

Over the weekend Insteps Dance Academy and Fullout Dance Academy, based in Ludlow and Leominster, hosted their annual dance show. They performed 4 shows over 2 days to over 600 people.

Once again, this year they chose Race Against Blood Cancer as their charitable partner and held a raffle to raise much needed funds. Not only was the weekend a great success for the academies but they also managed to raise £354 for our charity.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all those involved – these funds will help us to continue to raise awareness and register more potential lifesaving blood stem cell donors!

Tagged under - July 9, 2018Events, Fundraiser, News & updatesblood cancer, Charity, events, Fundraising, Midlands, past event, rabc, Race Against Blood CancerRace Against Blood Cancer

Race Against Blood Cancer supports Flagz Mas Band

May 27, 2018Donor Drive, Events, RecruitmentAlex Morrison, blood cancer, Celebrations, Charity, donor, donor drive, events, Flagz Carnival, London, rabc, Race Against Blood CancerRace Against Blood Cancer

Last Sunday Race Against Blood Cancer held a donor drive supporting Flagz Mas Band at Wandsworth Arts Fringe in London, where the team worked hard to sign up more potential lifesaving donors to the blood stem cell register.

We would like to thank all those that showed up to register and to the organisers for allowing us to pitch up and engage with the community. We would also like to give a special thanks to the work of our team members Alex Morrison and Lenah Lang who continue to help those people needing lifesaving transplants.

Tagged under - May 27, 2018Donor Drive, Events, RecruitmentAlex Morrison, blood cancer, Celebrations, Charity, donor, donor drive, events, Flagz Carnival, London, rabc, Race Against Blood CancerRace Against Blood Cancer

Asda shoppers given a helping hand by eager volunteers

May 19, 2018Events, FundraiserCharity, donor drive, Fundraising, Midlands, past event, shropshireRace Against Blood Cancer

Last Saturday we held a community fundraiser at Asda in Donnington, Telford, to raise money for the charity.

Race Against Blood Cancer volunteers and a group of fantastic local young people aged between 6 and 16 gave up their sunny Saturday to help pack shoppers bags and raised over £390 for the charity. Funds raised will help us work to find more lifesaving donors for people needing stem cell transplants.

We would like to say a massive thank you to Asda Donnington – particularly June Walker who helped us organise the bag pack and to the Telford community for their generosity. We would also like to show our appreciation to those who worked hard on the day – Gemma Elsmore, Sarah Elsmore, Gail Fisk, Ayiana Francis, Tia Drummond, Rae Drummond, Marcus Hodson, Aaliyah Khan, Simra Khan, Khakis Khan, Pheobe Morgan-Steele and Austin Round.

Volunteers in Asda Donnington — Three of our volunteers raising funds at Asda in Donnington, Telford

Tagged under - May 19, 2018Events, FundraiserCharity, donor drive, Fundraising, Midlands, past event, shropshireRace Against Blood Cancer