Crocus Walks

Stop Press:  Crocus Walk on 17th March 2012 and associated events raised £3,225 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer - thank you!

Crocus Walk 2012
This year's Crocus Walk raised a staggering £1,485.00.  We were delighted to welcome Emma Hare from Breakthrough Breast Cancer's Fundraising Team in London, who joined us to officially open the event.  She was most impressed with the way the event was run and the real sense of community which she experienced.

The breakdown of how the money was raised is as follows:
    Donation envelopes £720  Halsey Carvery £43 (£1 per meal donated to the Charity)   
    Adults' Raffle £292   Pins and Tins £25    Children's Raffle £51 Donation Envelopes £480
    Cakes £212  Donations already sent to Breakthrough  £110

Due to the kindness of everybody involved, there are NO expenses!  This means that EVERY SINGLE PENNY donated is given to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.  Thank you so much to everyone who supported the event including Holly and the staff at the Halsey Arms, Lydden Ladies, Lydden Walkers including those of you who marshalled the event, the staff and families at Buckland Newton Primary School, Church of the Holy Rood and Pulham Church for donating the beautiful flower posies, Sarah Mitchell for leading the 'Warm up', Caroline Durston, Annie Freak and Chris Mason for being the First Aiders, the local businesses for donating raffle prizes, and each and every one of you who donated cakes, raffle prizes or supported the event on the day itself.

Thank you, once again, for making the Crocus Walk 2012 a massive success.

To add to the total, a donation of £1,740 was made to Breakthrough from the pantomime "Cinderella", staged at the Village Hall on 21st-24th March 2012.  This brings the total raised this year to £3,225.

Alison Chant and the Crocus Walk Team: Jane & Jeremy Collins, Allyson Halsey, Jan & Trev Marpole, Jane Hildred, Jane West, Di & Brian wells, Isabelle Mace, Debbie Goodfellow, Sally Muggleton, Cathy & Tom Shippey, Jane Pfeffer, Glynis Ridout and Gill & John Nell.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer Visit to the Laboratories in London

If you cast your mind back to March (2010), you may remember the fifth annual Crocus Walk which took place at The Halsey Arms. You may have attended the walk or supported it in some other way but we were staggered to raise £2050. In total, we have raised an incredible £4291-00 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Therefore we were delighted to be invited to the Breakthrough Research Centre in London for the unveiling of the fourth Challengers’ Wall. 

The Challengers’ Wall recognises people and communities who have raised £1000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and acts as a visual ‘everyday’ reminder and inspiration to the scientists and staff who work at the centre.  

On Saturday 17^th July, a group of us from the Crocus Walk Team arrived in London for the tour of the centre. We were welcomed by staff from Breakthrough and attended a presentation by Dr Chris Lord, one of the Breakthrough scientists, who clearly explained how the money which we had raised was being used. In fact, an independent five-yearly review (conducted by scientists and clinicians) awarded the Breakthrough Research Centre the highest rating for the quality of its work and its future plans. Over the last ten years, Breakthrough has spent £55 million on groundbreaking research which has led to key breakthroughs in the fight against Breast Cancer. Patients are benefiting from new treatments which contribute to an increased rate of survival. In 2008/9 alone, Breakthrough spent £12.2 million on innovative research, campaigning and education work in a tireless fight to a future free from Breast Cancer.  

Following the presentation, we were taken on a tour of the laboratories where teams of scientists explained the work which they were undertaking and also gave us an opportunity to ask questions. We were particularly impressed with two aspects of their work. Firstly, it became clear that the scientist’s work would have implications for other types of cancer and secondly that they are willing to share their work with other charities to support their research too and therefore find a cure for cancer.  

We then went to the unveiling of the Challengers’ Wall. Due to the amount of money we have raised, Buckland Newton Community appears on the wall four times. Do visit http://breakthrough.org.uk/challengerswall/ to view the virtual wall. We’re in good company – Kylie Minogue appears on the wall too! 

Next, different groups of scientists, doctors and surgeons were congregated in a room with interactive displays of their work; with examples of healthy and cancerous cells; the equipment they use; photographs and other data and we were free to meet with them to discuss their work at Breakthrough. 

Finally, we were offered coffee and cake in the café with other supporters. Even here, the Breakthrough staff sat with us to share our experiences.  

We were somewhat overwhelmed by the welcome that we were given and which was maintained throughout our visit. We were made to feel a part of something very special and were struck by the professionalism and dedication of all of the members of staff. In fact, we embarked on an emotional rollercoaster, talking to staff and other challengers and hearing each other’s stories, as we could see that the money which we had raised was truly making a difference.  

We came away feeling truly inspired and motivated to continue to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer as it is being used so carefully and appropriately. So here’s to raising another £1000 at our Crocus Walk in 2011!