Will you become a friend of the charity and make a regular donation to support our work?
Since the charity began in 2015, we’ve made things happen:
• We have now recruited nearly 10,000 potential stem cell donors; more than 130 of these have been identified as a match for a blood cancer patient in need with 16 going onto donate their stem cells to a blood cancer patient, giving them a second chance at life. • An incredible 37% of the potential donors we have recruited are from minority ethnic communities, compared to just 15% of those on the whole donor register. • 38% of our potential donors that have completed the lifesaving donation process for a patient in need are from minority ethnic communities compared to just 4% across the donor registry as a whole.
We may be a small charity, but we have big ambition, low overheads and people who care – like you.
Just £3 a month could support the recruitment and training of a volunteer to raise awareness of the issues surrounding stem cell and bone marrow donation in their local community.
By making a donation of £5 a month, the charity would be able continue its programme of donor registration across the UK.
A £10 monthly donation would give us the opportunity to respond to urgent patient appeals where no matching donor exists, by running emergency donor drives on their behalf.
We will not stop until all blood cancer patients – regardless of their ethnicity – have an equal chance of a quality stem cell match and in turn, a second chance at life.
With Covid-19 having a significant effect on our income, we need the support of our community more than ever. Please join us by committing to a regular gift today.
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
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
Today, five people will begin their search for a stem cell donor, could you buy them a second chance at life this Christmas?
In 2020, we aim to launch a pilot project in the West Midlands to recruit 11,000 new donors – especially those from minority groups – to the stem cell and bone marrow register.
We need your help to make this happen.
The Trustees at the Roger Counter Foundation have generously agreed to match the first £15,000 of donations to the project so any gift you make is doubled.
Please, help Christmas wishes come true.
A number of our supporters have kindly agreed to share their own stories in the hope you feel able to support this year’s appeal:
We worked with Kelly and her family to find Khaleel (left) a donor
The Patient’s Story Kelly explains how important our community work is to families that are seeking a stem cell donor:
“We became involved with Race Against Blood Cancer through a member of the team when my son, Khaleel, relapsed with leukaemia. He needed an urgent stem cell transplant and the charity ran donor drives all over to try to get more people to sign up to the register and find him a match.
The charity makes a huge difference in the community, pretty much everyone locally now knows how important becoming a donor is. People always make a point of telling me how they’ve signed up at one of the donor drives as soon as they realise Khaleel’s my son. It makes me proud to know that he helped the charity to spread the word of the importance of being on the stem cell register.
Sadly Khaleel passed away after his transplant but we continue to work with Race Against Blood Cancer; every year the charity holds a fun day ‘Remembering Khaleel’ it’s always a great turn out and they sign up more new donors to help other patients seeking a match’.
James donated his stem cells to give a patient in Australia a second chance at life
The Donor’s Story
James explains why he’s supporting our appeal for funding this Christmas:
‘Friends of mine started the charity when one of our group was diagnosed with blood cancer, so I jumped at the chance to join the register. A couple of years passed and I was told I was a match for a patient in Australia; I went on to donate my stem cells shortly after.
To me, the work that the charity does is so important, in an ideal world there would be a presence in every community. Having a Community Engagement Manager in the West Midlands will mean an increase in the number of registered donors, resulting in more people across the world being offered the chance of life-saving treatment.”
Bex (right) became involved with the charity after donating stem cells for her sister Natalie (shown)
The Volunteer’s Story
Our volunteer – and stem cell donor – Bex, is urging you to make a donation to support our work:
“My sister was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in 2016. Following her first bone marrow transplant, we became involved with Race Against Blood Cancer and have supported the team since.
Being visible on a local level not only increases support but helps to raise awareness of the charity’s message and ethos. It is essential that we get more people on the donor register – things could have been so different for my sister. Everyone diagnosed with a blood disorder should have an equal chance of survival.”
Our new donors are registered through DKMS
The Partner’s Story Our registry partner DKMS explains the impact of having a local presence, and with this much achieved at ad-hoc events, imagine what we could achieve with a full-time Community Engagement Manager:
“From the very beginning, the West Midlands Race Against Blood Cancer representatives have been fundamental in driving the recruitment of donors to the stem cell register, with the volunteer team holding more than 70 events.
The fact that there is a local presence offering awareness, education and support, provides those affected and their families with the knowledge that their community are able to help and want to support them at such a time. This is an enormous boost and cannot be underestimated. The reassurance that such an important message and service is being facilitated by another organisation dedicated to trying to offer patients a second chance at life is a fact that we at DKMS value greatly.”
Next time you are shopping online, think about raising money for us.
An initiative set up by Amazon will raise money for Race Against Blood Cancer while you shop – at no cost to you. Simply visit the Amazon Smile website, log in as usual and select Race Against Blood Cancer as the charity to benefit; we receive 0.5% of the value of eligible purchases – it all adds up.
Easyfundraising is another way you can support us from the comfort of your own home. Visit their site, register, and when you purchase from any one of more than 3700 retailers, Race Against Blood Cancer will receive a donation. All the top stores are on there – including Sainsbury’s, M&S, John Lewis and Argos to name a few. You can even support the charity with your weekend takeaway – Just Eat are registered on the site too!
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 6th 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
Thank you so much to the Allscott Heath FC U9s team for raising money for our charity at their bag pack fundraiser at Asda in Donnington, Telford last Saturday. They raised an impressive £420.45 for Race Against Blood Cancer which will enable us to continue our work saving the lives of people with blood cancer.
We are so proud of the whole team of little lifesavers – and their siblings – for taking on this momentous challenge and giving up their time to support the charity Also thank you to Marcus, Morgan, Simra and Khalis for helping out too!
We’d also like to say a big thank you to ASDA Donnington for having us and to our community engagement manager Gemma Elsmore for co-ordinating the event.
Many thanks to Race Against Blood Cancer’s friend, Matt Murray, who has been responsible for a £500 donation to us this week.
Matt has been working with creative agency ‘Material’ on the current SSE Women’s FA Cup campaign, and amazingly, he decided to donate his fee to Race Against Blood Cancer.
Your ongoing support of our work is incredible Matt, thank you.
Matt Murray (right) with his friend and fellow ex-Wolves player, Carl Ikeme (centre) and the Race Against Blood Cancer team
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.
Back in June we shared via our Facebook page that global digital marketing agency Croud were embarking upon a HUGE challenge to raise money for Race Against Blood Cancer.
On 15th – 17th June their team of eight cyclists raced from London to Amsterdam and reached the finish line within their target finish time of under 36 hours! Wow!
We are pleased to share that the team raised over £7,400 for the charity – So many lives will be effected in a positive way with these funds, which will be used to help us register more lifesaving blood stem cell and bone marrow donors.
We would like to say a massive thank you to the team for their time and dedication – we massively appreciate Croud’s ongoing support for Race Against Blood Cancer and their willingness to help such an important cause.
If you would like to take part in a sporting event to help raise vital funds for our charity, then please get in touch with Emma – emma.brown@raceagainstbloodcancer.com
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!
