A Fantastic Night at the Captains Table

                        

Well... what can we say other than a huge THANKYOU to the 240 guests and countless supporters for making our third annual Ball such a success and helping us raise £2,896 for Breakthrough!

However, we don’t just measure success in terms of fundraising – for us, a key aspect of the Ball has always been how much our guests enjoy themselves, and based on feedback so far, this year’s bash did not disappoint. We couldn’t have done it without the help and support of many kind people, so once again... THANKYOU!!

Below is a sprinkling of photos from the evening to give you a taste of how it went - hopefully we'll be adding more soon once they've been organised so you can see more of the ball, our members and wonderful

supporters!

Becky, Anna and Christine help Captain John Piper steer a course to a fab evening.



The hall at the Batch looked wonderful as usual



The sweety bar didn't stay this tidy for long!



The Sharm el-Sheikh table all ready, with central fishbowl, calendars & pens for guests, and destination trivia for our intrepid globe trotters

Many tables had candelabra

We had an authentic ships bell to bring the crew and guests to order

The auction went well, with the signed Shane Warne cricket ball and signed Bristol City shirt both generating plenty of bids

One of our glamorous showgirls helped Captain John Piper welcome everyone

Group members Holly M and Holly B with Tessa Munt MP who has supported us over many years

The dancefloor is never empty with the Riverbrew playing

Party time!

Holly M and Holly B looking out for "hot pirates" apparently...

Gunge and Iaine looking fairly respectable in their dickie bows

Fear not, for the good Motorised Ship Breakthrough is in excellent hands... "Iceberg!"

Yearly Total 2010 to 2011

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

We are thrilled to announce our BEST EVER year for fundraising!

Our total for August 2010 to July 2011 was an incredible

£28,747.72p

This amazing amount could not have been achieved without the magnificent support we’ve received, so a very big THANK YOU to everyone!

It’s been a busy year with the Dance on the Beach, the Guys & Dolls Ball, the Guinness World Record Scrum Attempt, a race night, pamper nights, a sky dive, fun runs and cake bakes, plus many more events too numerous to mention.

It’s simply impossible to list the names of all our supporters (many prefer donations to remain private) but whether it was dropping some silver into a collection box, attending our charity ball or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, this fantastic figure represents awesome generosity from all our friends and supporters.

Although raising money is a key part of any charity, raising AWARENESS is very important for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, so all the events and activities over the last twelve months go even further towards our goal:

“a future free from the fear of breast cancer”

And a major part of raising awareness this past year has been the launch of Julie’s Legacy, as part of the TLC Campaign (Touch, Look, Check) in memory of group member Julie Selway who lost her battle with breast cancer in April 2010 aged 35.  

Very special thanks go to everyone who helped with Julie’s Legacy.

If you've not yet done so, please check out the link to Julie's Legacy below.

http://somersetbreastcancer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/julies-legacy.html 

Once again, THANK YOU!

Amazing Support at Race Night

Our first ever race night was a huge success!

Well, what can we say... other than a magnificent THANK YOU to everyone who supported us on our race night at Bar 27 in Bridgwater on Friday July 8th! 

An awesome total of £960.55 was raised for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, plus everyone had a great time!

  

Pink Pamper July 2011

As well as enjoying a wonderful evening sampling treats, trinkets and treatments, more than £200 was raised for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Thanks to everyone who supported the event, and especially Kirsty Macinnes and Kate Presely for organising it!  

World Record Scrum Attempt

With help from Burnham-on-Sea Rugby Club and other rugby teams from across the country, we attempted to break the Guiness World Record for the largest ever rugby scrum!

Previously the record stood at 68, and we managed a whopping 191 !!!!

Unfortunately, before we were able to have the record verified by GWR, it was beaten by a group from New Zealand who took it over the 200 mark.

However, we were still over the moon!

Alot of work went into this and to hear the cheers go up afterwards, not only from the crowd of onlookers but from those who took part aswell, was worth it, so on behalf of all the Somerset Breakthrough Group thank you all for your support.
Many thanks to everyone involved in the attempt, which was kindly hosted during the annual Gullivers Sports Travel Rugby Tournament Weekend at the BASC ground in Burnham-on-Sea.

Blues v Pinks

Gently does it...

Heads down - uncontested

Success - now for the ball

Smiles and cheers all round!

Thumbs up from Tessa

Witnessed by the Mayor and Mayoress

Does my ball look big in this???



Julie's Legacy

Somerset Breakthrough Group are delighted to have launched Julie's Legacy.

We already have stock of Julie's legacy poster so if you want to order a quantity please contact Christine on 01278 793870 or email christinepiper@sky.com

Julie was extremely kind hearted and would be there for you at any time. She always gave people the benefit of the doubt, never judged and always found the good in people. Julie was a special woman; she helped other people to cope with breast cancer and convinced them to carry on with treatment when they were thinking of giving up.

Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2007. In the summer of 2008 Julie joined the Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer group she arrived with a bottle of wine in hand and a huge smile. She got frustrated with us at times as Julie was a perfectionist and as a group we were a bit laid back. Julie settled in with our group and we were shocked to hear about her breast cancer.

Julie explained to Christine that she didn’t know that the dimpling she found on her breast was a sign of breast cancer; Julie like hundreds of women today thought you had to find a lump to have breast cancer. When Julie joined us time wasn’t on her side, the cancer had spread to her spine  and her liver.

Julie had already had operations on her spine to insert eight titanium screws and two rods followed by Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy. Julie had 5 attempts at Chemo.

Julie said “ Treatment has made me feel like I have a second chance at life” and for a while it did as it allowed Julie to marry the love of her life Iaine and they travelled to some of the places she had always wanted to.

Julie lost her fight on Thursday 15th April 2010 aged 35.

As a group we were all stunned by her death, we were expecting to see her at the Fashion Show we were holding at BASC in May, we hadn’t seen Julie since our Ball in December which with Julie’s help was a fantastic success as it was the group’s first ever Ball.

Christine kept thinking about her and came up with the idea of Julie’s Legacy to promote breast cancer awareness across Somerset and put it to the group who of course agreed without hesitation,It is even more fitting now as earlier this month it was announced that breast cancer now affects I in 8 women

Julie’s Legacy was born and today with support from Tessa Munt MP,Bernie Nolan, and Cllr Michael and Mrs Maria Clarke, Cllr Joe Leach, LibDem Cllr Candidate Tom Ryder.
 

Bernie Nolan of the wonderful Nolan Sisters and now touring in Calendar Girls sent this message:

“Life is so important,One day I noticed dimpling on my breast and I nearly ignored it but something told me NO and I went to my GP who on checking found a lump which resulted in my having 6 months of Chemotherapy followed by a Mastectomy and Reconstruction.I am supporting Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s Touch Look Check campaign which can save your life as it tells you the signs of breast cancer. The earlier breast cancer is diagnosed, the better the chances of beating it, so please Touch Look Check because life is so important.    Please support the Somerset Breakthrough group who do such fantastic work promoting & fundraising to make a difference to breast cancer” 

Tessa Munt MP sent this message:

“Breast Cancer affects so many families and each of us will know someone whose life has been affected by breast cancer. It’s so important that everyone, women and men  Touch Look Check  so that any problems can be caught early. The Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer group does fantastic work and raises an amazing amount of money to campaign and support people with breast cancer and I’m honoured to support their work”.

Cllr Michael & Mrs Maria Clarke Mayor & Mayoress of Burnham on Sea and Highbridge sent this message:

“We are truly proud to be involved with Breakthrough Breast Cancer;; the work carried out by this pioneering charity is really helping to save lives. Promoting education and awareness are vital in the fight against breast cancer and Breakthrough is making a difference.”

Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s Touch Look Check campaign will help the women of Somerset know that to have breast cancer you don’t JUST have to find a lump - it’s as simple as TLC

We would like local Businesses, Schools, Collages in fact anyone who is able to place a poster in your cloakrooms or any suitable place to help us spread the message of Touch Look Check. Please contact Christine on 01278 793870 or by email Christinepiper@sky.com

Please help us to fulfil Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s moto

“ a future free from the fear of breast cancer”

On behalf of The Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer group we would like to say Thank you to BASC and Burnham on Sea Rugby Club for their continued support for the last 14yrs and supporting us with Julie’s Legacy Launch.

Julie's Legacy Launch - Burnham-on-Sea.com