Celebrating 30 years of fund-raising

Buy photos » Chair Margaret Nelmes and secretary Sue Blackburn with their long service awards. (s)

A FUND-RAISING group is celebrating after raising more than £163,000 after 30 years of supporting Cancer Research UK.

The Alcester and District Group of Friends have been collecting cash for the charity since being founded in 1982. Money has been raised in a variety of ways including the group's now famous Open Gardens event which celebrated its 22nd year this year and is now a regular in Alcester's events calendar.

The group was presented with their 30 year achievement certificate at its recent AGM where chair Margaret Nelmes and secretary Sue Blackburn were awarded their 30 year long service awards, certificates and flowers.

Margaret said: "I would like to thank the generous nature of the people from Alcester, they’ve always been very supportive of the work we do, and are the main reason we have been so successful in making this amazing sum of money."

As a result of the fund-raising efforts of groups like Alcester and District, over the last 40 years survival rates for cancer have doubled and more than £8million was spent last year at the Cancer Research UK Centre in Birmingham, ensuring new discoveries made in the lab are developed quickly into treatments to benefit patients.

Sue Medcalf, Cancer Research UK’s area volunteer manager for Alcester, said: "I would like to thank Alcester and District Group of Friends for the fantastic amount they have raised and the massive contribution they have made to our vital work over the past 30 years."

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