Staff member Jackie Dougan stated: “After our manager was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, we decided that we wanted to do something, so we made and sold jams and chutneys as well as cakes and sconesto raise some much needed funds.  On top of this we made and sold Christmas cards, held a raffle at the Christmas party and held a baked potato lunch!”

The wonderful amount raised by these small endeavours will go towards Get A-Head’s ACC fund, wand will go towards research into this rare and devastating disease.  A Huge thank you to all at Loch Park who took part in the fundraising effort!

To donate to the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma fund, you can either call 0121 371 5046 or send a text containing the shortcode ACCX11 followed by the amount you wish to donate (anything between £1 and £10) to 70070.  Texts are free and the whole amount comes to the Charity.

If you are interested in attending this wonderful event, please contact Geoff on 07980 661 870 or Heather on 07956 123 160.  Alternatively, you can email MGLionsCharityBall@virginmedia.com

 Get-A-Head is an independent charity dealing with head and neck disease, particularly cancer, based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

 Brothers Tom & Edward Bromwich, and Richard Hill combined forces at the charity’s Annual Ball last November to raise £3000 with a winning bid on the charity’s auction for an entry in this year’s London Marathon for Iain Critchlow, a surveyor at Bromwich Hardy, to run in.

 “If I am honest,” says Richard Hill, Managing Director of Heritage Property, “I think at the time we thought one of us would run it! Our friends will laugh at this, but we were having a good time and the wine was flowing! Fortunately Iain is a keen runner, who has run for the charity before, and he was thrilled to have the opportunity in London.”

 Running enthusiast, Iain said, “I wasn’t going to miss out on the chance to run The London Marathon. I’ve always wanted to run it, so I am ecstatic to have the opportunity thanks to the guys. Knowing that I will be running for such an amazing charity will give me all the inspiration I need to get over the finishing line. We hope, with everyone’s support to raise a lot of money.”

Edward Bromwich, Managing Director of EHB Residential and Tom Bromwich, Partner of Bromwich Hardy Chartered Surveyors have a personal family connection with Get A-Head, with Tom Bromwich currently acting as Chairman of the Trust.

Tom, who is clearly very passionate about the charity, states “Not everyone will have heard of Get A-Head but we are a small but growing independent charity based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Our mission is to raise money to help people and their families suffering from neck and head cancer and other diseases of the head and neck. “

“With the help of Charity Patrons Lord Digby Jones, Trevor Francis, Peter Scudamore, Cher, Dr Hilary Jones & Nigel Wray and Professor John Watkinson over £4.2 million has already been raised and we are making great progress to reach our goals of reducing patients suffering through research, purchasing specialist equipment and providing education.”

Richard Hill, Managing Director of Heritage Property, who is a strong supporter of the Charity and the work they carry out throughout the country comments. “We’re all very good friends and saw this as an ideal opportunity to work together to support Get A-Head and all of the fantastic work they do.  We are all involved locally in the property market and it is great to work together and lend our support to Iain who has to do all the hard work by training for and running the London Marathon.”

Edward Bromwich, who clearly shares his brothers passion for Get A-Head comments, “This is a fantastic opportunity for our three companies to support Iain’s efforts. We are hoping that our clients and mutual contacts will also join in our fund raising efforts and would ask our fellow local Estate and Letting Agents if they would be kind enough to sponsor Iain as we are looking to raise as much money as possible for Get A-Head.”

Edward continues, “Iain, whose training kit has been kindly donated by Warwick Sports of Swan Street in Warwick and sponsored by our three businesses will be seen pounding local streets in readiness for the big day in April, so if you see him please give him some encouragement!”

Further information about the Get A-Head Charitable Trust please visit  www.getahead.org.uk or to donate please visit: www.justgiving.com/Iain-CritchlowGetahead

Little Abi with her new friend

Christmas came a little early for in-patients at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital this week when an invasion of soft, fluffy camels arrived!

Those who attended the Ball in 2010 will have seen these beautiful teddies before.  They were the stars of our teddy auction but the charity were left with a small surplus, which we were delighted to donate to the children of wards 5 and 10.

Carol Mullins, from Birmingham Children’s Hospital, said: “I had a very enjoyable time giving out these lovely toys.  The children were delighted to receive them and they were very much appreciated by everybody on the ward.  Thank you to Get A-Head for this wonderful donation.”

Get A-Head Chairman, Tom Bromwich, said: “We were delighted to be able to give a little something to the children on the ENT and Trauma wards.  Hopefully their new friends will keep them good company this Christmas.”

Once again, our supporters amazed us at their generosity and dedication when they turned out in their hundreds to support Get A-Head’s biggest fundraising event of the year.

In the scaled-down evening, guests enjoyed a wonderful drinks reception, generously donated by Matthew Clark and Purity Beers, before a lovely meal with entertainment by our compere for the evening, Mike Osman and songs by the wonderful Elysium III.  Guests then supported the charity through purchasing items in our triple auction – the Money Can’t Buy Auction, the silent auion and the teddy bear auction.  The three auctions raised a staggering £98,000!!

After the amazing auction, we enjoyed some stand-up comedy from the British Comedy Award nominee, Greg Davies, before the room danced the night away until the wee small hours of the morning to the fantatstic covers band, The Swains.  All in all, a fantastic £107,000 was raised for Get A-Head’s work, which truly is a wonderful amount for this current climate.  It just goes to show that our supporters really do put us first.

Thanks must go to Get A-Head’s Fundraising Committee for their tireless work on our behalf, JLP events for providing a discounted set, the Birmingham Hilton Metropole for their hospitality and to all of the entertainers for putting on a fantastic evening.

The video of the evening is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3DsMprH7NQ

Laura Oldcorn, Change Implementation Analyst at Barclaycard Northampton, tells us about the day:

On Wednesday 20^th July, two teams from the Northampton and Kirkby offices of Barclaycard met up in Bakewell, Derbyshire, to complete a 10 mile walk.  The purpose was to raise funds for Get A-Head but also, while we were at it, achieve a bit of cross-site team bonding!  The walk itself was actually quite enjoyable and we were all surprised how quickly we managed to complete it – we even had time to stop for a drink at one of the pubs along the way!  I don’t think anyone suffered any injuries other than a couple of blisters and we all enjoyed the day out of the office.  Across both teams, we managed to raise £758.00, for which we have our generous colleagues in Barclaycard, our friends and our families to thank.  Barclaycard has promised to match this donation pound for pound, bringing the total donation to £1516.00.

Team Barclaycard consisted of (L-R in photo)

Sam Dallas, Laura Oldcorn, Kay Sahota, Sarah Price, Michala McConnell, Kevin Carberry, Kelly Smith, Sue Leslie, John Woosey, Chris Carey, Alexia Tetchner, Gary Jervis.

Over the years, the Wiggins and their friends have rambled their way around Britain, from Ingleborough in Yorkshire, Swanage in Dorset and Windermere in Cumbria, raising thousands of pounds for the charity in the process.  This year’s walk has thus far raised an excellent £708, with more money coming in.  Thanks to all who took part!

So along with various pigs, dogs, herds of cattle and the inevitable frogs, cockerels and Chinese pandas, I set off in the direction of St Julien under blissfully cool, cloudy skies. 

Seemingly the excitement was too much for many of the men running, who nipped off almost immediately into the vines to relieve themselves. Next time I taste Bordeaux I will be looking out for cheeky undertones of marathon runners on the nose and palate… 

The first half of the marathon was fabulous fun: I managed to summon up a cheery wave and shout out to Anthony Barton who was sitting watching the herd go past and giggled when Josephine, the enormous golden giraffe being pulled by the Langoa Barton team, forgot to lower her sails at Beychevelle and promptly lost her head as she went through the gate. 

Richard was there to cheer me on at 25^th kilometre, cleverly choosing to lurk near to Mouton Rothschild, and at this point I was on target to finish in good time and the world was a happy place. 

Then the sun came out… and in 30 degree heat the slopes seemed steeper, the rest stops felt further apart and I rather lost the plot between kilometres 35 and 42. Without your amazing support, I really don’t think I would have been able to finish. 

All I could think of as I limped home was that the money raised really can make a difference to not only my nieces and nephews as they grow up but also to other families with familial cancers. Fittingly, I was running on my nephew Jack’s birthday and I know that the research that Joel is undertaking, using my family as a study group, will make a difference to Jack, Maddie, Ted, Harry and Frankie in the future. 

So, a GREAT BIG HEARTFELT THANK YOU for your sponsorship. 

I saw more Frenchmen’s bottoms than I ever want to see again (seriously, what’s with the thongs?) but it was a great experience and, with your help, I have raised over £6,000 for Get a-Head. 

With love and huge thanks, Laura x