Awareness goes hand in hand with fund raising, so the fact you are reading this sentence is already helping!
However, many people would like to become more active supporters of Breakthrough but don't really know where to start... well here are a few ways you could help our Somerset group no matter how much time or energy you have.
If you're a fan of social networks then please follow us on Twitter (@BreakthroughSom) or join our Facebook page - both are great ways to stay in touch for news and details of future events. Sharing our links on Facebook and retweeting the odd Twitter post will help us reach more people across Somerset and beyond - we promise not to clog anyone’s timeline and appreciate every #FF! :)
Apart from staying in touch on-line, we are always looking for shops, restaurants and bars that might have room for a pink ribbon badge box on the counter. We're already grateful to many establishments in Somerset who sell Breakthrough pink ribbon pin badges for us or have our collection tins handy for spare change – but the more the merrier and it all helps!
A number of loyal supporters hold coffee mornings and bake sales for us once a year – perfect examples of simple events that enables Breakthrough Breast Cancer to perform its crucial ground breaking research that is really making a difference.
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| A Pamper Event! |
Maybe you might consider holding a traditional bingo evening, or a cerebral quiz night? We’ve even held a few raunchy ladies nights where good times were had by all ;)
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| Ladies Night 2011 |
For the last two years we’ve held a Christmas raffle to coincide with our Ball, so raffle prizes such as bottles of wine or hampers for example would be an ideal donation. If you live near a group member and can spare a prize or even just sell a few tickets then it all helps, it really does.
And talking of our Ball (held near Weston-super-Mare), it really is the highlight of our year, so if you’ve never been then please do consider it, but contact us early as tickets are limited and normally go fast!
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| Moulin Rouge Ball 2009 |
Do you have any influence with an established sporting club that attracts larger crowds? Maybe you’d be able to arrange for a few members of our small group to attend a game one day, with a stall or simply just collection buckets/tins?
Another great help are the items and services that are donated each year for our annual Ball auction. If you know of a celebrity or famous sports person who could help, whether it is free tickets, a signed item, or something amazing like a “money-can’t-buy” studio tour experience, it would be wonderful if you could get in touch.
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| Signed Andrew Strauss Pictures! |
We are always looking for places with changing rooms such as shops, leisure centres, swimming pools etc to display A5 posters of Julie’s Legacy:
http://somersetbreastcancer.blogspot.co.uk/2011_02_01_archive.html
Julie’s Legacy was launched in February 2011, in conjunction with Breakthrough’s TLC campaign, in memory of much loved group member Julie Selway. The message is simple but not commonly known – like Julie, you do NOT need to find a lump to be diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Please get in touch if you can display a poster in a suitable place. If we save just one life it will be worth it.
Many small local sporting clubs raise awareness and funds for us (and themselves) by holding race nights, poker evenings or skittles competitions – these are a great idea as it raises our profile among their younger male members who may not have Breakthrough on their radar. Although rare, 300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK.
In addition to GO PINK events in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we also organise a number of awareness events throughout the year, such as the world’s biggest rugby scrum and the twist on the beach, so if you see us out and about then please do come along and say hello!
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| 191 person scrum! May 2011 |
We are actively seeking another 3 or 4 people, men or women, who are able to attend our meetings on the 1st Wednesday of each month. The group is based in Burnham-on-Sea where we generally hold our meetings, but as a few members live in Portishead & Bridgwater, we also hold the occasional meeting away from Burnham to freshen it up and share the travelling.
Meetings start at 7:30pm and finish before 10pm. The atmosphere is always friendly & informal, and with less than 10 members it shouldn’t be too daunting for any new faces. A warm welcome awaits... :)
Christine & John Piper started the Somerset group back in 1997, and are extremely proud that after 15 years the group has raised over £300,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. But this has only been possible with the help and support of so many great people & businesses of our county, so a very sincere THANKYOU goes out to everyone who has helped make a difference over the years!!
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| Celebrating 15 years in March 2012 |
We’d love to hear from you!
Of course, as a small regional group of Breakthrough, we can’t be too ambitious with our events, so if you fancy a more challenging experience while supporting our valuable cause, Breakthrough HQ are always organising a mountain to climb or a perfectly good airplane to jump out of!!
Just check out www.breakthrough.org.uk and you’ll find more national challenges than you can shake a stick at!
Breast cancer touches the lives of far too many people, but with your help we can continue to work towards a future free from the fear of this awful disease.
Thank you for reading... and keep smiling :)
Contact : christinepiper@sky.com 01278 793870 or somersetbreakthrough@gmail.com
