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ALZHEIMER’S Research UK has been announced as the new headline charity partner for the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon.
The UK’s leading dementia research charity, which is based at Granta Park in Great Abington, has been a national charity partner for the 13.1-mile race since 2019 and has now stepped up to be the headline partner for the 2022 event, which is provisionally scheduled for Sunday 6 March.
The charity had around 160 runners in the race on Sunday. They also had 45 volunteers, which included 22 members of staff, at five cheer points around the course cheering on the runners.
Among the Alzheimer’s Research UK runners on Sunday was Sue Strachan, from Herefordshire, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2014.
The 65-year-old, who ran the London Marathon in 2018, said:
“After running a half marathon early last year I said I would never run another, but I decided to run the Cambridge race this year specifically because it is the local event for the charity.
“The charity has been such a wonderful support to me and supporting them has given my life real purpose. Fundraising and volunteering for Alzheimer’s Research UK helps me to stay positive and has been so good for my well-being.
“It was an amazing day on Sunday, meeting up with the other Alzheimer’s Research UK runners before the race, getting to see the historic city of Cambridge and enjoying the atmosphere on the course, particularly the charity’s amazing cheer squads.
“Most importantly, the money I and all of the brilliant Alzheimer’s Research UK runners have raised provides hope that breakthroughs will soon be made to bring about life-changing treatments for dementia.”
Kelly Holliday, Sporting Events Manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“As a Cambridgeshire-based national charity, we are delighted to be the new headline charity partner for the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon.
“It is a hugely popular race with our supporters and one of the top races in our portfolio of events. Because it is our local race, many of our staff attend to cheer on the runners, ensuring our cheer squads are the biggest and loudest on the course.
“We look forward to having even more runners representing #TeamARUK and proudly wearing our orange tops at the 2022 race.
“The vital funds raised by our runners will help us power world-class studies to make life-changing breakthroughs for people with dementia.
“There are nearly 1 million people throughout the UK living with dementia. In the UK today, there are no treatments to stop or slow the diseases that cause dementia, but thanks to our amazing supporters, our researchers are working hard to change that.”
TTP Cambridge Half Marathon Event Director, Adam Moffat said:
“We are delighted to welcome Alzheimer’s Research UK as the headline charity partner of the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon from 2022, enhancing a relationship we have had since 2019.
“We are looking forward to working with Alzheimer’s Research UK to raise vital funds dedicated to researching causes, diagnosis, prevention, treatments and ultimately a cure for the diseases that cause dementia.”
For further information about Alzheimer’s Research UK, please visit: www.alzheimersresearchuk.org.
For more information about the Cambridge Half Marathon, please visit: https://cambridgehalfmarathon.
charitytoday.co.uk | 20 October 2021
SINCE the launch of EAAA’s 24/7 service by air and road on 30 June and up until 7am on Monday 18 October, the charity’s crews have been tasked 307 times between 7pm and 7am, averaging nearly three missions a night. During this time, 87 of the taskings were by helicopter and 220 by rapid response vehicle.
As the nights draw in and the seasons change, the EAAA teams will be operating even more during the hours of darkness, to provide enhanced critical care, by air or by road, to people living across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.
EAAA has been providing 24/7 care from both its bases in Norwich and Cambridge by rapid response vehicle for the last 18 months but began flying around-the-clock for the first time on 30 June this year, extending the night-time helicopter emergency medical service coverage in the region from its previous finishing time at 1:30am to complete coverage through to 7am. This change saw EAAA become the first air ambulance in the East of England to become 24/7 by both air and by road.
As a result of the increased operational hours, the crews have been able to cover a much wider area in East Anglia at night, helping more patients than was previously possible. By air, the crews have been tasked to Peterborough, across north Norfolk, into the depths of south Suffolk and as far southwest as Harpenden in Hertfordshire, to a mixture of emergencies including accidental injuries, cardiac arrests, road traffic collisions, medical emergencies, self-harm incidents and assaults.
Matthew Jones, CEO of EAAA, said:
“We’re just over three months into providing a fully 24/7 service for the region and we’re really pleased to see that our teams are already making a big difference to people all over East Anglia and beyond. We can see that we are being tasked over a much wider area at night than ever before, showing that we’re taking our enhanced critical care skills to those patients most in need of our help.
“Moving towards providing a 24/7 service has taken us the best part of four years and included raising an extra million pounds a year to fund this change, extending to 24/7 operations by rapid response vehicle first and expanding and renovating the charity’s HQ in Norwich, to adequately house a 24/7 service by air and by road. We are incredibly pleased to now be able to offer the same level of service, no matter what the time of day or night, to our patients and their families and this is only possible thanks to our incredible supporters.”
To facilitate the additional night flying at Norwich Airport also required upgrading the control system for the runway lights, costing around £60,000 which was kindly funded by the HELP Appeal. This drastically helps to reduce light pollution and saves energy by allowing the EAAA pilots to turn the lights on remotely via the aircraft VHF radio as they depart or approach the airport.
EAAA needs to raise £15 million a year to deliver and develop its life-saving service and is grateful to all of its supporters for the essential donations which keep the charity flying and have made a 24/7 service by air a reality for the people of East Anglia.
Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal, added:
“We are proud to have played an integral role in upgrading EAAA’s operational infrastructure to ensure the success of its 24/7 helicopter emergency medical service.”
The HELP Appeal’s latest donation to EAAA’s Norwich base comes after it funded two sets of portable lights and covered the entire cost of the helipad upgrade at its Cambridge Airport base earlier this year. The resurfacing helped to ensure the safety of the crew and the helicopter from losing debris caused by wear and tear.
The HELP Appeal also funded the £250,000 helipad at Ipswich Hospital which included state of the art night lights enabling air ambulances to land around the clock.
charitytoday.co.uk | 20 October 2021
CHARITIES and community groups from across Britain are being encouraged to apply for a share of £3.5 million to bring their dream project to life, thanks to support from players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Launching today, the Dream Fund encourages collaboration between charities and good causes by bringing them together to apply for funding for their dream project.
This year’s prize pot is the largest ever, with a top award of £1.25 million. Funding will be offered over three years from 2022.
The Dream Fund is encouraging applications from projects which seek to develop innovative solutions and deliver systematic change in either environment and conservation, social inequality, or pandemic recovery.
It has already awarded more than £16 million in funding to 32 projects across Britain, with previous winners including Wheels of Change, a joint project between Whizz Kids, Duchenne UK and The University of Edinburgh.
The Wheels of Change project saw the development of a wheelchair for disabled children that is technologically impressive, modular, and affordable.
Malcolm Tyndall, Director of Strategy and Innovation at Whizz-Kidz said:
“The £1 million received from the Dream Fund gave us the unique opportunity to work closely with world-leading partners and other charities, forming lasting relationships we still benefit from today. Kids in wheelchairs are usually the last to make friends, the last to have fun and the last to find jobs. Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, kids in wheelchairs are starting to come first.”
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said:
“This announcement marks the start of an exciting process which will see £3.5 million raised by our players awarded to truly inspirational projects.
“The Dream Fund has made a remarkable difference to so many projects over the last nine years, and I have no doubt that we’ll see many more bold and courageous ideas submitted this year.”
Applications to the Dream Fund can be made from Friday, 1 October until Monday, 1 November. Winners will be announced in March 2022. Please visit: www.postcodedreamtrust.org.uk for more details.
charitytoday.co.uk | 01 October 2021