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This year’s 2024 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival raises a staggering £35k for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital

Posted on by sarah.rastrick@act4addenbrookes.org.uk

This year’s 2024 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival blew fundraising expectations out of the water – with a staggering £35k raised for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH).

A total of 41 teams and over 600 competitors gathered along the riverbank at Fen Ditton for Saturday’s 18th Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival – paddling 30ft Dragon Boats up the river in glorious sunshine.

As well as the races, bankside entertainment brought the crowds in – with lion dances from the Cambridge Chinese Community and family-friendly entertainment provided by sponsors, Illumina (pictured below), with fun activities such as strawberry DNA extraction, dress like a scientist with a walk-through Cambridge DNA history, face painting and flag making.

We were there too – in a tent full of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust staff and volunteers, with donations to our raffle and hook a duck all helping to boost our £14 million public appeal for the new specialist cancer hospital.

Saturday’s electric event raised £35,000 and all funds will be used in support of the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH). The hospital, which will be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus by 2029, will bring together clinical and research expertise in a new, world-class hospital, designed in partnership with staff and patients. It will detect cancer earlier, treat it more precisely, and save more lives.

A special shout out to all the teams who competed to raise money for the new hospital – and to Cambridge 105 for supporting us on the day with live interviews and the Cambridge Independent who were taking photos on the day.

Teams travelled from outside the county to take part in Saturday’s Festival – with winners of the best dressed competition, Mosses Arc, travelling down from outside Chester to celebrate their friend Paul’s 50th birthday. Following a Noah’s Arc theme their outfits came two by two – with everything from flamingos to leopards, giant furry rats and chickens. We’re not sure how they managed to row in them – but they looked great!

Thank you also to the teams with multiple entries including TWI Ltd; Ring; AstraZeneca; Huawei Technologies; and the Railway Arms.

ACT’s Natasha Robertson, Corporate Partnerships Manager, hailed the festival a huge success and said: “It was such a fantastic day with an amazing atmosphere. It was lovely to meet all the teams and having the CCRH project team competing, as well as on their stand, meant that everyone who came – whether they were competing or coming to join in the fun – could see the direct impact they were having by helping to raise money for the new cancer hospital.

“We are absolutely delighted to have raised £35,000. It’s been our best festival yet!”

The overall winners were the Cosgrove Paddle Shifters

Lucy Morton, Executive Director from organisers NewWave Events, said: “The 2024 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival was a complete success and the whole team at NewWave Events had a fantastic day with all the crews. The fundraising efforts resulted in a record-breaking amount being raised for ACT from this event and we’re eager to build on this further for 2025! Watch this space for more information about next year, with plans already starting we have lots of ideas and hopefully, we will be bringing the dragons back to the River Cam with a sell-out event for the 20th year!’

Mark Robinson, VP and General Manager, UK and Ireland, and Northern Europe, Illumina said: “lllumina had an incredible day as sponsors of the 2024 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival to raise vital funds for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust to build a specialist cancer hospital in Cambridge. Seeing families, friends, and local businesses come together to support their teams provided an amazing atmosphere for the day and made it extra special.”

Elaine Chapman, Lead Advisory Nurse for CCRH, joined the CCRH project team in their boat and said: “We were absolutely delighted to take to the waters to raise money for Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital. It was my third time in a race crew and probably the best event yet!”

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came out to support such an amazing cause which has led to an incredible £35K raised for our future facility, that is bringing world-leading research and clinical excellence together, to change the lives of cancer patients across the UK and beyond.”

“We’re involving patients and staff at every stage of our project, so it was incredibly fun and rewarding to have our patients with us racing on the River Cam for CCRH.”

ACT would like to extend a HUGE thank you to all the teams taking part on the day. We hope to see you return next year for an even bigger, better festival with funds from next year’s festival again going towards our £14 million public appeal to help build the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.

Click here if you would like to donate to Cancer services at Addenbrooke’s and the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.

Email our friendly fundraising team and find out what you can do to support our hospitals.

ACT calls on runners in 2025 TTP Cambridge Half Marathon to run for new specialist cancer hospital

Posted on by sarah.rastrick@act4addenbrookes.org.uk

A leading hospital charity is calling on runners in the 2025 TTP Cambridge Half Marathon to join forces to boost its multi-million pound campaign to see a new world-class cancer hospital built in the city by 2029.

The Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) is to be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will be the first specialist cancer hospital for the East of England. It will bring together clinical and research expertise under one roof – allowing clinicians to detect cancer earlier, treat it more precisely and save more lives.

As the official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) has launched two major capital campaigns to build two ‘firsts’ for the region – the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital and the Cambridge Children’s Hospital.

Money raised by ACT supporters in the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon 2025 will help boost the charity’s £14 million public appeal to help build the new specialist cancer hospital, whose pioneering research is expected to have a far-reaching impact not just regionally, but nationally and globally too.

“We would love anyone who secures a ballot place in next year’s TTP Cambridge Half Marathon to choose ACT as their official charity. By doing so they will play a pivotal role in raising funds to help build what will be an amazing, world-leading cancer specialist hospital, the first of its kind in the Eastern region,” said Rebecca Beattie, Community Fundraising Manager at ACT. “So, calling all runners – come and join #TeamAddenbrookes!”

Places for next year’s half marathon on Sunday 9 March go live on the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon website on Friday 23 August, and are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

However, if you haven’t secured a TTP Cambridge Half Marathon place, ACT has a number of charity places available for next year’s half marathon, with 2025 seeing the highest number of entries to date, rising from 4 in 2022 to 150 in 2025.
Register for your charity place now.

“It really is an amazing event to be part of and for all our runners to be raising money for the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital really does make the atmosphere on the day very special,” Rebecca said.

Any runners who are lucky enough to secure their own place in the half marathon can join #TeamAddenbrookes by contacting ACT at: fundraising@act4addenbrookes.org.uk. Entrants will receive the same support package as ACT’s own charity runners. 

Ella Hamilton, from TTP Cambridge Half Marathon, said: “We are looking forward to entries becoming available for next year’s event, we predict this to be our fastest sell out yet! We are pleased to be supporting such an amazing array of charities, including Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust which has launched the public appeal for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital. The local community is really supportive of the half marathon so there’s always a really great atmosphere on the day – not just for runners but spectators too.’

Ilse Patterson, Lead R&D MR Radiographer at Addenbrooke’s

The TTP Cambridge Half Marathon starts at Jesus Green in the centre of Cambridge. It then takes runners to the outskirts of Cambridge along some of the busiest roads which will be closed on the day of the race. Runners then pass over the river, through Kings College, Queens College and past Corpus Christi College before entering the beautiful village of Grantchester. In the final leg, runners will be taken through the stunning grounds of Jesus College before finishing back at Jesus Green with an electric welcome from spectators at what is always a popular event in the city’s calendar.

Ilse Patterson, Lead R&D MR Radiographer at Addenbrooke’s (pictured right), said she will be entering for the second time next year. “I decided to attempt the Cambridge Half Marathon in 2024 and absolutely loved it first time around so have decided to enter again for 2025 and run to make a difference – so have chosen to run for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust. ACT really impacts not just on our patients across Addenbrooke’s, but also staff members too and as an employee of the hospital this makes a huge difference. I am patiently waiting for entries to open so I can apply again for next year!”

77-year-old with Parkinson’s all set to walk 120km stretch of Hadrian’s Wall to raise awareness around importance of exercise

Posted on by Danni Smith

A 77-year-old retiree, who has been living with Parkinson’s Disease for five years, has set himself the challenge of walking a 120-kilometre section of Hadrian’s Wall to raise funds for The Centre for Brain Repair at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and to raise awareness of the importance of exercise for people living with Parkinson’s – at the point of diagnosis. 

Trevor Elliott, from Norfolk, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in September 2019 and it came at a point where he was already very low, having lost his wife, Maryse, five months earlier from Leukaemia. “Losing my wife after 48 years together was like losing my legs. It was a very dark time for me.” 

It took approximately two years for Trevor to get diagnosed because he initially put his tremor down to nerve damage on his spine. “I developed a tremor in my right hand, and it got so bad I was dropping things all the time. I couldn’t even carry a cup. My wife and I would try and make a joke of it. We’d say I had a good hand for shaking sugar over strawberries.” 

After receiving his diagnosis, Trevor decided to take back control and turned to the internet for answers. “I found some videos from a US symposium and one of them was about exercise and how it allows you to take back control – and that to me is the key message here.” 

Parkinson’s Disease is a life-changing neurological condition that affects both loss of mobility and cognitive dysfunction. It affects 153,000 people in the UK today and over 7 million worldwide. One in 37 people alive today in the UK will be diagnosed with the condition in their lifetime and currently there is no cure. Alongside pharmacological treatments, exercise is fundamental in the management of Parkinson’s disease. Evidence over the last 10 years has shown that being active can improve not only mobility, reduce falls risks and alleviates symptoms such as pain and stiffness but also reduce anxiety and depression. Regular physical activity improves mood and overall physical health, boosting confidence and independence in daily activities.  

Trevor was one of six Parkinson’s patients to work directly with a specialist Physiotherapist and PhD Fellow at the University of Cambridge to co-design a digital intervention, Knowledge Exercise Efficacy and Participation (KEEP), which aimed to promote the importance of exercise for people with Parkinson’s at the point of diagnosis.

The KEEP study was part of a 3-year PhD Fellowship funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Applied Research Collaborations East of England and was supported by an ACT grant. The intervention was led by PhD fellow, Ledia Alushi Agley, whose studies address the issues of early promotion of exercise together with early involvement of allied healthcare professionals – such as physiotherapists and speech and language therapists – in the care of patients with Parkinson’s.  

The KEEP intervention consisted of six online modules and four online group discussions facilitated by a specialist physiotherapist. Modules looked at the importance of physical activity, how to exercise effectively with Parkinson’s as well as taking control following diagnosis. An integral component of the intervention was the inclusion of personal stories and messages from people living with Parkinson’s, including Trevor. These personal accounts offered valuable insights and motivation, demonstrating real-life examples of how to manage and thrive despite the condition.  

To raise awareness of the importance of exercise, Trevor set himself the challenge of walking a 120-kilometre stretch of Hadrian’s Wall, from Newcastle to Carlisle, after contracting sepsis last year. “The sepsis kicked off all my Parkinson’s symptoms and made them deteriorate. I needed some counselling at the time too, as anxiety and depression are part of the disease. It made me feel vulnerable for the first time. In the end, I decided the best way for me to get out of this spiral of depression was to think about other people and take on this challenge.” 

Trevor hopes to raise £1,200 for The Centre for Brain Repair through Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, the official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, whose supporters raise funds to help make the hospitals even better by funding cutting-edge research, innovations and high-tech equipment, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide. 

Accompanying him on the walk later this month will be his eleven-year-old dog, Sam, an English Pointer, “who is the same age as me in dog years, we’re both 77.”  

“It’s not hard to walk 12 miles a day. It’s all about getting up the next day to do it all again but for someone with Parkinson’s it’s also the constant fight with fatigue and apathy.” 

Diagnosed with ‘right-side’ Parkinson’s, Trevor’s balance and co-ordination is affected, with tremors in his right foot and hand, along with low mood and fatigue associated with the disease.  

“One of the problems of Parkinson’s is fighting fatigue and apathy. If I keep going during the day I am fine but if I sit down I could fall asleep. It’s the battle of keeping active and doing stuff but I still go to the gym twice a week and walk 10km each day. 

 Ledia said that non-pharmacological interventions like KEEP, which promote the role of exercise around the time of diagnosis, are crucial as they can help patients manage their symptoms and continue to live well with Parkinson’s.  

“Introducing these interventions in the NHS Parkinson’s pathway at Cambridge University Hospitals and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust as part of a randomised control trial showcased the positive impact the intervention had in improving participants’ understanding of the role of exercise and their confidence in trying different exercises as soon as they were diagnosed, rather than waiting until mobility has deteriorated.”  

Trevor believes that participating in research studies like the KEEP intervention plays a vital role in highlighting the significance of physical activity in managing Parkinson’s disease. 

“When first diagnosed, I was told I had a window of between 6 and 14 years before I would be incapable of looking after myself which was a complete turnaround for someone who, although 72 years old at the time, was still active and walking 10 kilometres a day and had camping and hill walking down as my main hobbies. I was devastated. Nobody told me at the point of diagnosis about the importance of exercise. I just walked out of the hospital with this window of time I had left in my head.” 

Trevor hopes that by doing his walk it will give hope to others diagnosed with the Parkinson’s. “When Jeremy Paxman presented a Parkinson’s Petition to Downing Street delivering a list of recommendations, the headlines were ‘Having Parkinson’s makes you wish you hadn’t been born.’ I am really annoyed with Paxman for that. I think it’s absolutely awful. You can either be like Paxman or take some control. I have been given this window of between 6 and 14 years before my symptoms make it impossible to look after myself. I have good and bad days but I would like to push that window as far as I can.” 

To sponsor Trevor and donate to Parkinson’s Disease Research through ACT, click here  

Click here to to make a difference and fundraise for ACT. Alternatively, email: fundraising@act4addenbrookes.org.uk

Fundraising brings company ‘happiness in spades’

Posted on by Danni Smith

Here, James Stevens, Founder and CEO of Cambridge Commodities, which provides nutritional ingredients across a variety of industries, talks about the positive impact that fundraising has had on his staff.   

James, who founded his company working out of his parents’ spare bedroom at just 21 years of age, has since grown the company to the size it is today – with a global workforce of 170 staff, with offices in Ely, Sacramento and the Netherlands. 

The company, however, didn’t start raising money for charity until its 20th year.

“I really wanted to raise £20,000 for charity in our 20th year so started looking for a charity. Somebody wrote down Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and it just stood out. It’s the perfect charity for a business of our location and size and it touches the hearts of every single member of staff. We all know someone who has either been admitted to the hospital or visited somebody there. All my children were born in the Rosie.” 

Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) is the official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals, and money raised by our supporters help make the hospitals even better by funding cutting-edge research, innovations and high-tech equipment, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide. 

One of the reasons for picking ACT as its charity was to be able to see the direct impact of all their fundraising efforts, James says – something that has happened on several occasions already with different members of staff, including Emily, the firm’s EU Account Manager, whose two-year-old Ayda was born in the Rosie just after Christmas. 

Emily had helped other members of staff to wrap Christmas presents which ACT funded to be distributed to patients on Christmas Day. Emily, who had been booked to have a C-Section on New Years’ Eve, went into labour early and was admitted to the Rosie on Christmas Eve. 

“I was in hospital on Christmas Day waiting to give birth so I received one of the Christmas presents that ACT had funded; some hand cream and body lotion, which was a really thoughtful present. Something like that just makes you feel supported and reassured that people are thinking of you and trying to make you feel better about being in hospital over Christmas, when you don’t want to be.” 

Another member of staff to see the direct impact of their fundraising efforts was Natalie Scott Paul, the firm’s Head of Payroll, who organises the Annual Christmas Ball with finance manager Carly Purell.  

“As one of our things we wanted to do, staff chose to pay the salary of a play therapist. That year my daughter was admitted to Addenbrooke’s, and the play therapist came to see her while she was waiting to be seen. I texted everyone at work and said, ‘we did that!’” 

Staff have taken part in, or organised, a range of activities or events – from wrapping Christmas presents for patients to competing in the Cambridge Half Marathon to handing out daffodils to hospital staff at Easter.  

“We were handing out daffodils to staff as they were leaving work for the day,” James said, “and to see the smiles on their exhausted faces, you cannot describe how good that feels. To see them all leaving and to be able to say thank you is amazing. I think we all had a little cry when we got home that day.” 

The firm has organised other events themselves – from cake bakes to a cyclathon (24 hours of cycling); a Walking Challenge where staff had to walk the equivalent in miles from their office in Ely to their office in Sacramento (over 5,000 miles which they managed to more than double) as well as their annual Christmas Ball, which after five years is soon expected to top half a million pounds raised. 

ACT’s Corporate Partnerships Manager Natasha Robertson said companies who would like to join forces with the charity can get involved in a number of different ways, from making one-off donations to choosing ACT as its Charity of the Year. 

“Most of the companies that we work with have a connection with the hospitals and find fundraising a really worthwhile, bonding experience. Employees can organise their own fundraising events or take part in some of the fun events that we organise throughout the year, including the Dragon Boat Race and the Cambridge Half Marathon.” 

“We have a diverse range of companies across sectors that are fundraising on our behalf and as we continue to grow.” 

As for James, he says fundraising gives his staff an enormous sense of pride as well as helps him get to know employees in areas of the business he wouldn’t normally interact with. It also helps with recruitment. 

“We have people saying they chose us as an employer because we had a relationship with a charity.” 

For any company thinking of becoming a corporate supporter for ACT, James has this to say, “You just need to find the time to do it but that time is paid back in spades through the happiness of your staff.” 

Find out more about our corporate partnerships here. If your company is able to support ACT and is looking to make a real difference, please email Natasha at: Natasha.Robertson@act4addenbrookes.org.uk.

Click here to find out more about fundraising for the hospital.

    

10-strong security team from Addenbrooke’s raise nearly £6,000 in charity skydive

Posted on by Danni Smith

Martyn Grass, who organised the skydive over Beccles Airfield with his colleague Mark, described the jump as “absolutely amazing,” adding: “It was so fast! We covered a mile and a half in ten seconds! The adrenaline when you land is like nothing you have felt before. We were literally all hugging at the end of it. Only one of the team was a bit off colour when they landed but all the security team were great.”

Martyn and his colleagues, who provide security across the whole of the Addenbrooke’s site, including the Accident and Emergency Department, completed the ACT challenge to raise money for young people suffering with mental health issues.

Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) is the official charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals, and money raised by our supporters help make the hospitals even better by funding cutting-edge research, innovations and high-tech equipment, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide.

Explaining why he wanted young people’s mental health to be the focus of their fundraising, Martyn said: “Working at the hospital is quite challenging for all the security officers dealing with paediatric mental health issues. Sometimes we have to deal with people trying to abscond, so it was important for us to try and raise money for young people with mental health issues to show our support.”

“When it comes to mental health, my saying is never look back. Always look forward. In mental health, each individual has a lot of stairs in front of them and it might be 5 to 10, or 10 to a 100, but every step will eventually get them to the top and they’ll be all right.”

Martyn was awarded a You Made a Difference Award by the hospital earlier this year praising him for the passion he puts into his work, saying: “Martyn is passionate about his role and giving the best service to patients, staff and visitors.”

The security officer, from Shepreth, was nominated for the award by a young woman who was admitted to A&E overnight in a distressed state.

“She was with a family member at the time who was very concerned about her. I sat down with her and chatted to her about her mental health and she wrote into the hospital thanking me for taking the time to speak to her. Apparently she is doing really well now.”

Apart from the skydive, Martyn’s JustGiving page – currently standing at £5,938 – is still being boosted by donations. He has organised a Prom Night Raffle for Year 11 pupils at a local secondary schools to win a ride to their prom in one of four prestige cars provided by Wallis and Son cars in Barton and A.G Motors in Papworth.

ACT’s Head of Fundraising, Donna Lee-Willis, said: “We are delighted that Martyn and his colleagues have been able to have fun while at the same time raising such an amazing amount of money for ACT that will benefit patients and staff across Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie.”

Our charity has organised an exciting selection of fundraising challenges for anyone who would like to raise funds for the hospital. Find out more here. Alternatively, supporters can organise their own events.

Click here to donate to Martyn’s JustGiving page.