National Charities
British Heart Foundation
The Leeds City branch of
The British Heart Foundation
support BHF with fundraising activities throughout the year. They are looking for new members to join their committee, and help them keep hearts beating with their fundraising activities, which includes wine tasting and an annual Ball. If any Forward Ladies woul like to join the committee, contact
Sue Green.
Cardiomyopathy Association
Ruth Innes and Michaela Begley ran the New York marathon in Nov 2008 in memory of Ruth's 7 year old cousin Stephen, and Daniel Yorath. All proceeds will go to the Daniel Yorath Appeal in aid of the Cardiomyopathy Association. Check out their link:
www.justgiving.com/fit2suit.
Diabetes UK
Diabetes UK is the largest organisation in the UK working for people with diabetes, funding research, campaigning and helping people living with the condition. With the help of organisations such as Forward Ladies, the team can raise awareness and funds to find a cure for the condition. In Leeds more than 20,000 are living with diabetes and a further 15,000 are at risk. If Forward Ladies would like to get involved, please contact the team on 01325 488606 or at
northyorks@diabetes.org.uk.
Marie Curie
Forward Lady Rebecca Leverton and her family took part in the Great Wall of China trek for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Following the death of her mum-in-law Susan at the age of just 49 from liver cancer. Although Rebecca works for Marie Curie, she now has personal experience and wants to raise sponsorship money to help terminally ill people die, with dignity, at home. If you would like to help them please call the fundraising office on 0114 279 3010 or visit
www.justgiving.co.uk/.
RNIB
The
RNIB
has launched a Refreshment Ripple - and it's whenever and wherever you would like it to be. Just invite along six people and charge them £2 each for a Coffee Morning. They organise their own event and invite 5 people so it ripples on, raising money. Contact
Jackie McGuire
for further details.
Thyroid Disease
Dawn Wood of Ages of Elegance is collecting old mobile phones to raise funds for her patient support group
Thyroid Disease
- a debilitating condition affecting 1 in 4 of the population, mainly women and is often misdiagnosed. Symptoms are varied as it affects all parts of the body from weight changes, to hair loss, mental deficiency, mobility and infertility. Dawn set up her website and support forum 11 years ago, without any funding and all volunteer help, after spending 4 years trying to get diagnosed and researching on the internet. The group now has nearly 600 members worldwide and is growing rapidly. There is no national charity for this illness currently, but the group has been invited to become a member of the Long Term Conditions Alliance to help shape policy.
Women Against Lung Cancer
Women Against Lung Cancer
was launched in 2006. The campaign is fronted by Dame Judy Dench, who lost her husband to lung cancer. The purpose of the campaign is to raise the profile and encourage British women to join the fight against the biggest cancer killer of women. Women Against Lung Cancer is a web based campaign and we are actively encouraging women to demonstrate their support by signing up to the campaign via the website.
Every year 38,000 patients are diagnosed with lung cancer, and 34,000 die. Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in both men and women. Only 1.4% of the total research funding is spent on lung cancer research. The average prognosis for lung cancer patients from diagnosis to death is less than six months.