Summer Newsletter 2015

Support • Information • Awareness

A Celebration of Fabulous Fundraising We’ve been bowled over by the work that’s been going on through our wonderful supporters over the past few months. We would like to say a big heartfelt thanks to every single one of you who put ideas, effort and commitment into raising funds and equally valuable awareness for us. Inside this newsletter we’re delighted to highlight some of the many varied activities that our fundraisers have been involved in. It’s also been a busy period for the charity with our office move. After five years at our offices in Midland Way, Thornbury, we have a new home. We haven’t gone far and our telephone and online contact details remain the same, but the new office address is: Brain Tumour Support, 29A High Street, Thornbury, South Gloucestershire BS35 2AR

FUNDRAISING THANK YOU’s Inspiring Cycling

On July 25th, Ross Fripp from Southampton completed an amazing challenge to raise funds for us. He took part in the Mega Meon Sportive - cycling 74 miles through the challenging terrain of the Meon Valley and the South Downs of Hampshire. What made Ross’s challenge all the more inspiring was the fact that less than 8 months ago he was having to learn to walk again having gone through surgery to remove a brain tumour in December 2014. Ross’s motivation to take part was “…not only to help raise money for Brain Tumour Support in the hope that better care can be made available for brain tumour sufferers but I also hope to show to other brain tumour patients that it doesn’t mean the end of life as they know it, and they can get on with life afterwards and be active and healthy.” Ross cycled with his friend Matt Davison, and we were immensely proud and grateful to see them representing Brain Tumour Support. In addition, Ross’s fundraising has now reached an amazing total - £10,040. Huge thanks to Ross for his dedication and generosity, and for the inspiration and support that he is giving to so many others.

Wonderful Runners

We’ve had great support from runners at a host of events over the past few months and would like to thank everyone who has put their running shoes on to help our work... Goring 10K On March 1st Rosamund Porter ran the Goring 10k, in memory of her sister Anna Duval-Fryer who sadly passed away in August 2012. Rosamund’s terrific run raised around £600 which contributes to the on-going fundraising being undertaken by family and friends in lasting tribute to Anna. Leeds 10K Grateful thanks also go to Andy Playford who ran the Leeds 10K on 12th July, supporting us after the loss of his brother to a brain tumour last year. 2

Plymouth Half Vicki Roose, a brain tumour survivor herself, ran the Plymouth Half Marathon for us for the third time on April 19th, raising almost £600. (Vicki pictured far right)

We’re hugely grateful for Vicki’s continued support and also for these lovely words from her JustGiving page “Six years on from my operation and every year I get more confident and stronger but only with the help from this charity. They made me realise I’m not the only one, I am the same person and not to be scared of what the future brings.”

The Rubber Runners’ Marafun This year on Sunday April 26th it was the inaugural Southampton ‘Marafun’ Half Marathon and our amazing ‘Rubber Runners’ took up the challenge. The team - Dave, Karolina, Claire, Michelle, Nathan, Dan and Shaun - are friends and colleagues from Martins Rubber Co. in Southampton, who wanted to say thank you for support received after one of them helped a friend through cancer treatment. ”We had a great day and all managed to complete the course, and raise our £500 target, and are hoping to get more sponsorship including a donation from the company” London Marathon April 26th was also the day of the London Marathon and we had a truly inspirational man running it for us this year. Three years after surgery to remove a meningioma brain tumour, Nick Smart succeeded in winning a place in this prestigious event. Always a keen and accomplished runner Nick used his athletic skills to aid his recovery, but he also wanted to say thank you for the support that he and his family have received throughout that time, and he chose the London Marathon for that. He set himself a target of under 3 hours and, crossing the line in 02:51:35, achieved that, along with an incredible £2855 in fundraising. Nick’s inspiring story was featured in his local community magazine published prior to the Marathon, and the article is also now available to read on our website Big thanks to Nick and his family for their support and also for sharing their encouraging story.

Daring Jumpers A big well done and huge thanks to these three brave skydivers: Cousins Dan and Sofia (pictured left) took their big leap on May 23rd raising over £1100, a fantastic total and they also got some great video of Dan’s jump - proudly wearing his BTS T-shirt! Then on June 7th Brendon White (right) from Southampton took on a 15,000ft skydive - higher than the standard jump - and this was his reaction to the experience “Absolute epic day from start to finish! WOW!” We think he enjoyed it! Not only that, he also raised almost £1000. There are opportunities to skydive throughout the year and you can find details of what is involved and how to sign up on our website or from our Fundraising Team. If you would like more information about any aspect of fundraising, donating, or other ways to help Brain Tumour Support, please contact us on [email protected] or call 01454 414355.

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Wild White Water Rafters

Longstanding Staffordshire Support Group members Glyn and Mary Salt are proving to be rather intrepid fundraisers, and on May 31st they headed an expedition to Wales for a wet and wild day of white water rafting. Glyn’s wife, Mary, and her friend Margaret (both in their 70’s), alongside son Stuart and daughter Catherine with her friend Sarah, all decided to book their place on the ride of a life time. Joining them in the remaining two places on the raft were Charlotte, daughter of Staffordshire Brain Tumour Support Worker Christine, and Head of Support Rosemary. They had a lot of fun, got VERY wet, but all returned with happy memories of a fantastic day and some wonderful photographs of their adventure. They also raised more than £1200 and are vowing to return next year! If you, or anyone your know, would like to join them on the rapids in 2016, contact our fundraising team so they can tell you more about this exhilirating challenge.

Remembering Ben On Friday 3rd July a very special music event was held at Aldridge Community Centre, Walsall. The BENefit Gig was inspired by Ben Sambrook, a student from Aldridge School who died last year aged just 14, after a 7 year battle with a brain tumour. Now in its second year the charity gig, organised by Julie Homfrey and Paige Jackson and inspired by Ben’s own love of music, aims to give local musicians a chance to showcase their talent at a professional level.

Ben Sambrook

(right) Emily Sambrook performed in memory of her brother

Generous support was given by many local sponsors to enable Brain Tumour Support to benefit from all funds raised on the evening and we are hugely grateful to everyone who performed, attended and contributed in any way to make it such a success for both fundraising and awareness, and as a wonderful, continuing tribute to Ben.

Family Fundraising

Adele Cordy and her family and friends have been fundraising for us throughout this year. Showing huge family spirit they decided to pull together and embark on a variety of races after Adele’s dad was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. Sadly he passed away in August, but his family’s efforts are continuing as a wonderful tribute to him and to date they have raised over £4,300 - more than double their target. Events entered include runs and cycles, the London Marathon and even a firewalk! We look forward to sharing more news when their big family challenge is complete, but would now like to express our best wishes and thanks for their generosity throughout a difficult time. 4

And Thanks to...

King Billy The King William Pub in Bristol raised a fantastic £1000 for us and on 26th April raised their glasses and a big cheque in tribute to Jamie England, in whose memory the fundraising was organised. Our thanks to all who contributed. A Very Happy Couple On Saturday 2nd May, Jane & Brian Embling tied the knot at an intimate ceremony of family and close friends at The Walton Park Hotel, Clevedon. They very kindly chose Brain Tumour Support to be the recipients of any wedding donations, and visited the office with wedding cake and £245 for the charity. We wish them every happiness for their future. West Quay In Southampton staff members at West Quay Ltd arranged a ‘Disney-themed day’ in aid of us on April 27th, asking colleagues to come to work dressed as a Disney character and donate money to Brain Tumour Support. It not only brightened up a Monday at work but also raised around £100 and some great awareness of our work. Southmead Reunion Thanks to Lesley McKeown for organising a special fundraising day & raffle on May 29th. It was a happy reunion of staff from C Ward at Southmead Hospital and raised £375.

Suzanne’s No Hair Day On 16th May Suzanne Marshallsay from Poole in Dorset took on a new look with a sponsored head shave. She wanted to support our work following the loss of her husband Keith in September 2011. As a result she raised over £2200 for us. She said afterwards - “The head shave went brilliantly. I did have an awful moment when I thought, ‘what have I done?’ but I’m happy I did this. After all, my husband lost more than his hair; he lost his life.” Big thanks to Suzanne and everyone who contributed to her incredible total. Callington Gospel Choir On Saturday 6th June our Support Worker for Cornwall, Julie Liddle, attended a wonderful concert in Liskeard put on by the Callington Gospel Choir in aid of our work. The concert was organised by Carolyn Lavers in support of her neighbour who has a brain tumour and attends the Liskeard Support Group. Carolyn said “It was lovely to have Julie Liddle and her family at the concert. It was a pleasure to support your charity and I look forward to helping you again in the future. With best wishes to you all for the wonderful work you do.” The evening raised over £750, so many thanks to Carolyn, the choir and everyone who made it such a fantastic event.

Taunton Deane Morris Dancers Jim’s Cider Shack in Aller, Somerset was host to the Taunton Deane Morris Dancers and large crowds - all together making a very merry summer evening on June 30th! It was a wonderful event too for Brain Tumour Support with a grand total of £780 raised from admissions and refreshments. Mary Lockyer of Jim’s Cider Shack said: “The weather was good so many more turned up who were not expected. Everyone left happy, contented and perhaps a little wobbly on the legs.” Cheers! And we’ll be reporting on more fantastic fundraising events in the next newsletter It’s been a busy summer! 5

CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY NEWS Cadmans Wealth Planning Golf Day A fantastic day was had by all who attended the Cadman Wealth Planning Golf Day on Friday the 15th May. With the sun shining, ten teams teed off at Thornbury Golf Club and had a wonderful day packed with food, competitions, raffles and an auction. First place in the golf tournament went to Essilor, with Fourplay coming second and Integral Build third. A big thank you to Rob and Katy Cadman for holding the event, Anna Shipp for excellent organisation, Ian Yearsley for his very moving speech and to all who made it a very enjoyable day which also raised approximately £2300 - a wonderful fundraising total.

Help from Higos

Thank you to George Tucker and Higos Insurance for their generous donation of £500 from the Higos Community Fund. George lost his young sister Victoria to a brain tumour in 2006 when she was just 9 years old. His family received valuable support throughout that very difficult time and that led George to nominate Brain Tumour Support to receive the award.

Waitrose Green Token Scheme

We were again chosen by the Waitrose in Clifton, Bristol to take part in their Green Token scheme in May, which raised us a lovely £200. And in July their Bath store supported us with a further £234. We really appreciate this continued support. Both Waitrose and Asda run these schemes, so if you have a local store do please nominate us by just speaking to the store manager, it could lead to us receiving much needed funds. 6

Aviva Community Fund Voting

We would like to say a sincere thank you to everyone who voted for us and asked others to do so throughout May. There were over 4 million votes cast for a total of 3320 different projects, and we have been told that competition between projects was extremely tough. Sadly we didn’t make it through to the final, but even though we were not successful this time, we are very proud of how everyone really got behind this initiative. We did gain the best response we’ve had in a public voting award such as this, so we are confident that it is a good basis to achieve a lot more in the future.

A Final Thank You for Bottle Tops As our milk bottle top collections finished at the end of June we just wanted to to say a final thank you to everyone who joined in for us. We’d also like to send special thanks to staff and pupils at Beresford Memorial First School in Leek who made their collections in memory of Gill Blakeman, a former office manager at the school. In appreciation of the support she was receiving from us herself, and with her daughter Vickie Longson also being a teacher at Beresford, Gill suggested that the school get involved in collecting. Sadly Gill died on May 26th but the pupils’ enthusiasm for the project continued and a lovely tribute was paid in the local newspaper.

Valued Volunteers In June we marked National Volunteers Week - an annual celebration of the huge contribution made by volunteers across the UK. We of course feel particular thanks to our own treasured volunteers. Whether in our Thornbury office, at our support groups or events throughout the South West and Midlands, the time, energy and skills so generously given are invaluable to our work. We really couldn’t do all we do without you! We are also very grateful for two particular initiatives which enable us to collaborate with young people: Over the past few years Brain Tumour Support Alongside Premium Partners has worked closely with The Castle School and we are also pleased to welcome Marlwood School, three students from Marlwood and we have recently School who are taking their joined their Premium bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award Partners initiative, and have therefore joined us as aiming to encourage volunteers and fundraisers. Jessica, Emma partnerships between businesses and the and Berry set themselves a fundraising target schools in order to fully prepare young people and to achieve this they are already planning for the world of work. It helps to raise student a bag packing at Asda in October, a vintage aspirations and increase employability skills tea party in their village and several stalls at whilst giving businesses and organisations a their old primary schools. chance to network together. We are delighted to be working with them A recent Ofsted inspection highlighted the and would be very pleased to work with importance of this initiative in playing a any other young people completing their significant role in helping disadvantaged Duke of Edinburgh Award (whether bronze, students choose the right courses for future silver or gold) and looking for volunteering employment, as well as the experiences of experience. We are looking to expand these preparing for interviews. collaborations in other areas, not just for We are very proud to be part of this people local to Thornbury, and would be partnership and look forward to supporting very happy to hear from anyone who might more students in the future. be interested.

Kings of The Castle Well done and a big thank you to our fantastic 6th Formers from The Castle School who have dedicated time and enthusiasm in volunteering and fundraising for us over the past year. They organised all sorts of events including an autumn fundraising fayre, bag packing, a charity car wash and activities for our Bandanas for Brain Tumours campaign. They raised over £2000 which was double their original target, and we are extremely grateful for all their support.

Other Events Coming Up The Great BTS Bake Off

Catch the Great British Bake Off cake baking spirit - Join our own Great BTS Bake Off! If you are part of a company, group or school whose tastebuds might be tickled by a bit of baking, take a look at our website or contact our fundraising team to find out how to be involved. 7

SUPPORT FOCUS

New Support for Wolverhampton

We are very pleased to have been able to start up a new Support Group for anyone in the Wolverhampton area.

The introductory meeting took place on June 18th in order to discuss with potential members what they would like from the group and how they would like to see it develop. It had a very positive response and the second meeting in July proved even more popular. Sharon, our Brain Tumour Support Worker co-ordinating the group, is looking forward to developing it further and dates for monthly meetings through to the end of the year are now set. They are being held at the Light House Coffee Shop in The Chubb Buildings, Wolverhampton. Further details are available on our website or through our Support Team.

Patient Experience Research Study

The popularity of our regional Support Groups and also our private group on Facebook really demonstrates how sharing experience is a hugely valuable element of support. We are therefore always interested to know of opportunities where personal experience can feed into research and help increase understanding and public awareness of brain tumours in order to improve wider support services for the future.

One such opportunity is currently open through some research being undertaken at the University of Hull. This study investigates how people living with a brain tumour view their condition, how they rate their quality of life, and whether the way in which their diagnosis was communicated affects these. It is open to anyone who has a primary brain tumour, are at least 18 years old, and can read and type in English, and should take between 20-30 minutes to complete. The study will close in December 2015. Full details as well as the questionnaire are via this link https://hull.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/ braintumourresearch for anyone who is eligible and interested to contribute.

BNOS

At the start of July Brain Tumour Support was proud to attend the annual BNOS (British NeuroOncology Society) meeting, this year held at the University of Nottingham. The 3 day conference brings together some of the most highly respected professionals working in both scientific and clinical fields, and it was a privilege to have our whole Support Team present, and to be recognised for the quality and breadth of support we offer to families. Amongst the high level presentations focussing on cutting edge research, there was also a clear, growing recognition of how essential specialist, holistic support is to anyone coping with a brain tumour diagnosis. We are constantly working to get that message across and to be able to reach people affected as soon as possible. If you, or someone you know, is looking for support please contact our Support Team at [email protected] or call 0845 4501039 (local rate call) Brain Tumour Support

Registered Charity 1102750

www.braintumoursupport.co.uk

29A High Street, Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, BS35 2BS