Staff at Kohler Mira have smashed its fundraising target for Cancer Research UK (CRUK), which has resulted in a whopping total of £92,000 being handed over to the charity this spring.
CRUK is one of the UK’s best known and longest established cancer charities, having its roots in the Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund dating back to 1902. It supports patients and their families affected by cancer, while backing world class research into beating the disease. In the past 40 years, cancer survival rates have doubled – with there now being a 50% survival rate, depending on form. The campaigns stated aim is to lift that to 75% by 2034.
Every year, Kohler Mira associates choose a charity to support and with several colleagues having been closely touched by the disease recently, CRUK was elected for 2016-17.
Fundraising events ranged across the board from sponsored triathlons to bring-and-buy cake sales. One highlight this year was the outstanding results seen in Stand Up to Cancer Month (SU2C) last October. A host of activities took place, including a cycle challenge, an Indian food day, a bake off, toilet roll wrap and many more – all of which culminated in a single month’s donations of £12,000.
James Rogers, fundraising manager at CRUK, said: “The £12,000 raised from SU2C is enough to buy a time-saving device that can count 10,000 cells in just 15 seconds, helping scientists to find the most effective ways to kill cancer, sooner. Imagine the time it would take scientists to accurately count the number of microscopic cells in a tube – ten years ago it might not have even been possible. Simple time-saving devices like this greatly increase the time that can be spent on life-saving research.”
Kohler Mira’s finance director, Sarah Sadler, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have raised so much money in a great cause, especially given how some of our colleagues have been affected by the disease.”