Febuary update

Welcome to our first monthly update blog. We have lots happening at The Joseph Foote Trust this year and we want to tell you all about it.

THE BALL

It is hard to know where to start as we have huge amounts of exciting activity across the entire charity from policy to fundraising and everything in between. The annual charity ball is always on our supporters lips, and with  less than 6 weeks until kick off we are all getting very excited. Ticket sales have been unbelievable this year, with  more tables being sold by Christmas than ever before. We have over 700 confirmed as attending already with this number rising ever hour as our supporters ring in to the office to reserve a place. It is set to be another fantastic night with a star studded line up, great food and as always a fantastic cause as its focus. Check out the video of last year's ball and see what all the fuss is about! 

You can book a ticket by calling the office on 0121 744 1444 between 8.30 - 6.00 Monday - Friday. 

EVENT SUCCESS

Our events programme has been going from strength to strength over the past 12 months and this month has been no different. On Saturday 7th of January 250 Joseph Foote Trust supporters attended our event at Worcester Warriors Rugby Club's Sixways Stadium Upper Charity Lounge for the game between Worcester Warriors and Gloucester. It was a fantastic day with great rugby, food and fundraising all rolled into one! We raised £5,220 on the day which will be spent on pioneering brain tumour research at Nottingham University. We are hoping to hold similar events at sports clubs in the future as a result of such a successful day. Watch this space. 

VOLUNTEERS

Much of the success of our events program can be attributed to our growing number of volunteers at the charity. Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds help the charity on a regular basis with everything from marketing, administration, fundraising collections and awareness campaigning. This Christmas a team of volunteers raised over £2,500 through two separate supermarket 'bag packs'! Not only that but we managed to distribute newsletters and talk to hundreds of generous donors. If you would be interested in joining us and doing your bit for our brain tumour cause then please do get in touch. 

THE EVER SUCCESSFUL £1,000 CHALLENGE

We have been busy in the office with our £1,000 challenge scheme which has taken off a storm. We have raised we over £40,000 so far through an incredible variety of different events, challenges and activities. Recently Anne Chmelewsky contacted us hoping to join the £1,000 challenge scheme as she had written a solo opera script and wanted to raise money for us. Anne's event ran so well that she has released new dates. Find out more about Anne's event here. Don't worry, not every challenger has a script when they call us up. We are here to support you and can give you advice on jumping out of a plane, baking cakes and just about everything in between. Just get in touch. 

OUR CAMPAIGNING

Less than 1% of the NHS cancer research budget is spent on brain tumour research despite brain tumours now killing more children and adults under 40 than any other tumour. This is totally unacceptable and we are striving for change. Together with other brain tumour organisations we have created the Brain Tumour Consortium whose focus is to work together to campaign for improved brain tumour policy and services in the areas of support care and treatment; patient involvement and choice; and research. To learn more about the Brain Tumour Consortium or to download information packs, the Brain Tumour Manifesto presented to Government or advice about lobbying please visit the website. 

OUR SUPPORT

Our growing support network is now reaching more families affected by brain tumours than ever before. We aim to offer a helping hand through the entire brain tumour journey by providing resources, advice and a warm embrace. Our support offers a vital lifeline to many families who don't know where or who to turn to. We are proud of the progress we are making in this area and will continue to push forward, reaching more families desperate for our help and providing them with the support they need to fight against this terrible disease. 

Thank you for reading this update. If it has given you any ideas or if you can offer us feedback please comment or phone us on 0121 744 1444. We would love to hear from you and work with you to cure this disease.