After a year of eating, sleeping, breathing about raising half a million pounds in one year it has been difficult to sort of stop ish!
Yes – I set myself the target of raising £500k in one year to fund a psychologist for the children with cancer on the children’s cancer unit at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and their families. Why? Because we we were the only children’s cancer unit in the south west without psychological support available. Dreadful. But that helped my campaign.
At the beginning I knew I wouldn’t raise that amount in one year by doing cake sales and discos! I went to almost every networking meeting I could to pitch for 250 businesses to give me £2000. I quickly added that it could be paid over 10 years as we were going to fund the psychologist for 10 years so just needed to have the £50k at the beginning of each year to pay to the NHS for the salary.
Businesses in Gloucestershire have been absolutely amazing. Many after hearing my story thought ‘What if it was my child that was diagnosed with cancer? I/we would need that support’ Many are paying £200 a year or £400 a year for 5 years.
Anyway, long story short – we did it! We launched on March 10th 2023 which would have been Emily’s 31st birthday and finished two weeks ago on March 10th on what would have been her 32nd birthday and we had a fantastic celebration at Gloucester Brewery with many of our pledgers, donors & supporters.
The teariest moment was three Mums stood on the stage (and it was Mother’s Day) with their three young sons who are on different stages of cancer treatment. One of them had his last chemo put into his NG whilst he was telling me on a microphone that he had it this way because he didn’t like the taste of it. – I am not surprised – it is toxic!
We all threw our hats into the air and acknowledged the amazing painting that the wonderful Russel Haines painted of me – for sale for £1500 by the way and rounded off with some dancing with the very talented Camilla Lewington.
The following week everyone kept asking me how I was feeling. ‘You must be so proud’ they said. I just wasn’t. In face I felt numb until the middle of the second week after. Last week. On Friday – I woke up feeling more relaxed. I noticed that I didn’t have the knot in my stomach thinking I must raise £2000 today and if I hadn’t done that the following day I woke up with the knot tighter and I thought ‘I need to raise £4000 today’! But last Friday I noticed I didn’t have that feeling and later that day I took a big, deep relaxed breath and breathed out gently and noticed that I felt a little bit proud.
I am about to start week 3 after the full on year of fundraising and still have lots of money to chase to get it all in and get a buffer! but I am going to enjoy it instead of feeling under pressure! If you would like to give please go to our website
Happy Easter week everyone.
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