UPDATE - Issue 39 - Winter 2010
Fundraising
Carol Concert by candlelight
A record number of supporters joined us at St Paul’s in Knightsbridge to celebrate the start of the Christmas season at the Prostate UK Carol Concert. Guests were greeted with mulled wine and mince pies – the perfect winter warmer for a night of wet and windy weather.
Suzi Digby, of BBC1’s Last Choir Standing and The Choir fame, and her superb choir Voce delivered an outstanding musical programme. The candle-lit service also featured a mix of traditional and modern readings from well known names in television, politics and radio; Jemma Redgrave, Mark Simmonds MP, Norman Gregory and ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris. Not only was it a moving and memorable evening, this year’s carol concert proved to be our most successful festive fundraiser yet, raising over £10,000. A big thank you to our generous guests and sponsor, Lazard.
Thirteenth Annual Luncheon a huge success
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Roger Bone makes a donation to Prostate UK |
The luncheon in full swing |
HRH the Duchess of Gloucester |
The thirteenth Annual Luncheon held in October last year was a huge success. More than 300 guests helped to raise £50,000 at the grand surroundings of the Dorchester in the presence of our Royal Patron, HRH the Duchess of Gloucester.
The Luncheon was kindly sponsored by Ted Clucas and the three course meal was followed by an exciting auction. Bidding was fierce for items including exclusive paintings, a secret lot of items from the Harry Potter films and a selection of bottles signed by Baroness Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron. Guests could also receive a mystery gift by donating to the Gift Tree. Meals at restaurants, tickets to the theatre and family photographic portraits were all up for grabs for those who joined in.
Two of our community fundraisers travelled to London to speak about the work we do and how it has helped them. Louise Howe is a practice nurse in Lancashire who has attended a Master Class and has a personal interest in prostate disease after her brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Brett Jones was lucky enough to get a slot on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of Antony Gormley’s One & Other project and chose to raise awareness of Prostate UK while wearing gold pants and a cape.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make it such a memorable and successful afternoon.
Party4Patrick
You may recall from the Autumn issue of Update the tragic story of Patrick Evans whose life was cut short following a skiing accident. In the summer of 2009, some of Patrick’s University friends organised a Party4Patrick, or P4P, in a park in Epsom. It was a family day out starting with a sponsored fun run in optional fancy dress. There was a barbecue and large picnic area and Patrick’s friends, family and work colleagues had the chance to get together, remember Patrick and raise money for his two chosen charities. During the afternoon Mike Dennis, Patrick’s best friend from University organised a rounders tournament, egg and spoon races, sack races and much more.
In the evening everyone moved into the hall and Patrick’s cousin’s band Take Cover played, and the fun went on. In total over £2,000 was raised for each charity, and Mike Dennis managed to persuade his company Marshall Wace to double the amount raised which meant that a total in excess of £4,000 was raised for Prostate UK. It is hoped that following the success of P4P it will become an annual event and plans are already underway for P4P 2010!
Charity Challenge by Clare McLean
In June last year, I entered the bi-annual Samworth Charity Challenge in the Lake District with my boyfriend Alex Woodford. Alex’s dad, Guy, has lived with prostate cancer for over 10 years and has so far raised in excess of £130,000 for Prostate UK. We wanted to help Guy reach his goal of £150,000. The race consisted of a 14km walk with a height gain of 1056m followed by a 30km bike ride with a height gain of 500m, a 50m abseil and finally, a daunting 11km canoe ride!
We dusted down our bikes and even bought some ‘outdoorsy’ clothes and walking shoes (those that know us, will confirm sacrificing high heels and hair gel was a big deal). Despite changeable weather the highlight of the walk had to be the clouds clearing as we descended Mount Coniston, revealing Lake Coniston glistening in the beams of sunlight below us. It certainly looked magical and made the walk we had just undertaken feel even more rewarding. Finishing the event and coming a respectable seventeenth out of 35 teams was a great achievement and there was certainly no question of which charity we wanted to donate our sponsorship money to. We raised a grand total of £3,170 and we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated to our cause – we’re extremely grateful. For now, we’re back wearing our high heels and hair gel respectively, however, we’re scheming more fundraising plans (involving go-karts) for Prostate UK in 2010.