We were overjoyed to be chosen as one of two local charities to be supported by the Apprentice & Graduate Association in Derby. Earlier this year the Association held a fundraising ball to benefit both ourselves and our friends at the Tiny Tim Trust. Additional fundraising by the apprentices and graduates followed during the remainder of the year. Last week we were invited to Rolls-Royce to receive a cheque for the Association's fundraising efforts. We received £2914.96 from the team and we've just been informed that an additional £500 is also on its way. We're truly humbled. A huge thank you to all involved. This amount will make a tangible difference to approximately 8 local families living with cancer (*grant applications average out at approximately £400 per family. We don't hand over any money - all items/services are paid for directly by the charity)
Simon Hancox at TEDx Derby
We are very pleased to present to you a TEDx talk in Derby from Simon Hancox, entitled 'My journey of dealing with grief'. The video was recorded live from the event, and features a brief history into how Annabel's Angels began, as well as a powerful message from Simon himself.
To read more about TEDx Derby, an independently organised TED event, visit the TEDxDerby website.
Grand Charity Auction Raised £60k!
The Grand Charity auction held by James Lewis in Westfield Derby last Novemeber has been confirmed to raise a total of £60,479. 2,200 lots were auctioned during the record breaking 26 hour long non-stop auction, with the proceeds being split between 10 Derby based charities, of which Annabel's Angels was one.
The lots on offer ranged from items with an estimated value of less than £10 to a brand new car, and the success of the event was due to huge support from the community, organisers and charities.
The money donated to Annabel's Angels will be of great support to the cause, and the auction has helped us to increase our profile, raising awareness of the isolation experienced by cancer patients and carers. Our cut of the funds is just over £6000, and as a cause we plan to operate two funds - the public fund to support Derby based patients and families, and the partnerships fund for local cancer support groups and joint initiatives to help support people affected by cancer in Derby.
A donation to the Derby Breast Cancer Support Group
Annabel's Angels is very pleased to support the work of Derby Breast Cancer Support Group. Today we donated some of our funds to the group to help them purchase a range of specialist mastectomy bras. It is anticipated that around 35 women will receive a specialist bra, fitting advice and ongoing support from the group as a result of our donation. Thanks again everyone for supporting us and enabling us to do this x
Annabel's Angels Royal Derby Hospital Survey
The Annabel's Angels team has been working closely with Healthwatch Derby. Healthwatch is an organisation set up by the government to help local people have a say in how local health and social care services are designed and delivered in local areas.
The two organisations have come together to design two surveys; one for patients and one for family/friends, and they aim to capture the experiences of people who have been, or are being, treated for cancer at the Royal Derby Hospital.
These surveys will benefit Healthwatch research greatly, and also allow Annabel's Angels to gain a better insight into additional support needs for people affected by cancer and their families in Derby.
The surveys must be completed by Wednesday January 29 2014. They can be accessed via the links below.
Auction Lot Update 3
Another update on auction lots here! The Grand Charity auction is this week on 28th from 6:30pm and runs for 24 hours. The official website for the auction now has a preview of the star listings that will be auctioned here, as well as a full auction listing here. You can also view a complete listing of the lots on Bamfords Auctioneers site here.
Auction Lot Update 2 - Hotel Breaks
The second lots update for the charity auction world record attempt on 28th November in Derby's Westfield centre takes a look at a few overnight stays in hotels.
All the proceeds from the sale of these items on the day of the auction will go to local charities, of which Annabel's Angels is one
The Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, have donated 2 nights stay with bed and breakfast. Read about the hotel here.
Ringwood Hall Hotel in Chesterfield have donated an overnight stay for 2 in the feature room. Visit their website here for a look at the feature rooms.
The Bubble Inn have donated a room for two with a Greek meal and a bottle of wine. View the hotel here.
Auction Lot Update 1 - Restaurant Vouchers
As you may well know by now, James Lewis, twice winner of the “auctioneer of the year award” will be attempting to set a world record by holding the longest auction ever held by a solo auctioneer at Westfield, Derby, on the 28th November 2013 at 6:30 pm.
All the proceeds from the sale of items will be donated to the participating charities, of which Annabel's Angels are one.
We have had an amazing response and have now reached our target goal of 150 lots. This is the first lots update, previewing some of the lots donated, to give you an idea of what's in store. This time round, it's restaurant vouchers.
Mexico Mexican restaurant on Saddler Gate, Derby have donated a meal for two
Nando's in Derby have donated a platter for two
Nottingham Belfry Hotel have donated a meal for two at the beautiful Lawrence Restaurant
The Ferrer's Arms a traditional pub in Sinfin donated a roast dinner and a bottle of wine for two
Slice of India Indian buffet have donated a meal for two
The Garden Restaurant Swarkestone are offering a Sunday carvery for two
More lots to be revealed soon!
New Posters
These three posters will be featured around the Combined Day Unit at the Royal Derby Hospital in the coming weeks, and potentially a few other public spaces too. They feature the amazing Lynda, Amanda and Nicola and we owe much thanks to Rachel Raphael Photography
Bucket Collection at Derby County
Last Saturday Annabel's Angels were lucky enough to be able to run a bucket collection at the Derby v Leeds game at Derby County football ground. The weather was great, the organisation from the ground superb, the friendliness from staff and stewards exemplary. And of course, at 3-1 to Derby the result made the day even better! In total we had a team of 28 volunteers who all had an excellent time. The public were happy to stop and chat with us, and, of course, to dip their hands in their wallets and donate. We took a lot of change away with us at the end of the day. We even managed to grab Conor Sammon for a donation (lovely chap!).
Our grand total was £1240. This surpassed the target we had in mind. So as you can imagine, we're very pleased indeed. A massive thank you from the team at Annabel's Angels to everyone who donated!
We also had a chance to connect with the Macmillan green bus team, which was a great opportunity to catch up with Ruth Wilson and get to know the Macmillan staff and volunteers team.
Annabel's Angels would like to say a sincere thanks to everyone connected to the club, right from stewards up to the senior management team. This amount of money will be put towards helping people in Derby in their daily battle living with cancer. We donated a cheque for £1000 to the Combined Day Unit last Friday and we are currently in discussion with a number of local service providers in funding some creative arts workshops with an aim of bringing people affected by cancer together to realise they're not alone and to fuel mutual peer support.
Check out the full set of pictures from the day on our Facebook Page
A Donation
Yesterday we presented a cheque for £1000 to the combined day unit at the Royal Derby hospital, the unit is an area we plan to continue to support here at Annabel's Angels. We wouldn't be able to do amazing things like this without the incredible support we have, so thank you to all who have donated and got involved with us. There will be more to come!
Charity Auction Progress
On 28th November the BBC's James Lewis, twice winner of auctioneer of the year award, will take on the world record for the longest auction ever held by a solo auctioneer, with all proceeds going to charity. Annabel's Angels is one of the lucky charities involved, and we need to donate 150 lots for auction. We are currently about half way there! Support has been amazing, and we'd like to thank everyone who has donated and gotten involved in spreading the word. You are all amazing. But we still need your help! So shout about the auction, speak to business owners and get them involved. The event is getting coverage on TV, Radio and Press so will be an excellent way to promote business and give to amazing causes at the same time.
And a sneak peek at the auction lots: so far we have beautiful oil paintings, a spanish classical guitar, signed Derby County shirt and football, weekend breaks and many more excellent items.
To get involved, fill out an auction lot form available from this page.
James Lewis to Take on World Record
James Lewis, twice winner of the “auctioneer of the year award” is attempting to set a world record by holding the longest auction ever held by a solo auctioneer, in aid of 10 Derbyshire Causes and Charities, of which Annabel’s Angels are one. The auction will take place at the Westfield Centre, Derby on the 28th November 2013 at 6:30 pm and will last a full 24 hours! All the proceeds from the sale of items will be donated to the participating charities.
The auction is to be highly publicised and supported by local press, TV and radio. The auction will be held in the same way as a usual Bamford’s auction; there will be several bidding options including online bidding on The Saleroom.
We are currently looking for businesses to support this innovative fundraising event. We need to generate as much interest as possible and we have a challenging lots target to reach.
Each charity must provide a total of 150 lots. These may be items, services, experiences or talents of any value from £10 to £10,000.00 or more. Vouchers for goods from Derbyshire based traders will be most welcome. In short, we are looking to receive any interesting, useful, valuable, novel or fun items.
This will be a unique fun filled event and we hope you can get involved. Donors will benefit from the publicity surrounding this prestigious event and the inclusion of their logo in the catalogue along with internal advertising at the Westfield Centre to promote your business at a key time in the shopping calendar.
In addition to Annabel’s Angels, the other charities taking part are: Tiny Tim Trust, Victim Support Derby and Derbyshire, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Born Free foundation, Diabetes UK, Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, Crich Toy Library, Lion Roar and Derby Air Cadets.
If you think you could help us out, or for more information about the event, please use the contact form from the menu above or download the application form directly here.
Race For Life Derby: Our Story
The Race for Life weekend saw the team spend a great day at Asda Sinfin. We sold lots of wristbands, mugs and t-shirts, and we shook our donation tins as loudly as possible! We took £308 on the day, a fantastic amount of money. The day also gave us the opportunity to talk to customers and promote our group. We'll be back again on Saturday 30 August. This time we'll be bag packing. And so to the Race for Life event itself. Here's a summary of the day from Ali:
An offer from Saks Derby
We're really pleased to announce a special deal with our partners, Saks Hair Salon in Derby. All Annabel's Angels followers will get 10% off their hair treatment. All you need to do is mention Annabel's Angels upon booking and 10% will be deducted off your final bill. This applies to cuts and treatments. Contact the team to book an appointment 01332 345300. You could even pick up an Annabel's Angels wristband while you're there too :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saks-Derby-Hair/204935022984567?fref=ts
Fundraising update
Here at Annabel's Angels HQ we've been doing some totting up. We've raised around £2300 for our Annabel's Angels group so far. In addition to this we've also raised around £1200 in online and offline donations for the Combined Day Unit at the Royal Derby Hospital, around £2500 for Macmillan Cancer Support and we are currently raising a significant amount for Cancer Research through the Annabel's Angels coordinated Race for Life events (12 of them pulling in an average of £1000 each).
So, if our maths serves us right, we make that around £18,000 raised to fund cancer research and support. Not bad in a few months really. We'll be collating race for life totals and sharing them in July. Thanks everyone yet again for your support. We have some more exciting news to share with you over the coming weeks.
Until then xx
3 more teams Race For Life
This weekend saw 3 more Annabel's Angels teams in Race For Life. First off it was the turn for the team in Middlesbrough headed up by team captain Elaine Johnson. Looking good, ladies, and congratulations on raising a mega £500 for Cancer Research UK!
Today it was the turn of teams in Folkestone and Bath. Despite some gloomy weather, our Angels completed the course in fine style. Photos to follow soon! Now we're counting down to the London, Finsbury Park race on Saturday 22nd June and praying the rain will stay away! If anyone wants to come along and cheer us, please do. We would love the support. And don't forget if you want any tshirts, hoodies or wristbands that you see our lovely team members wearing, you can buy them in the Annabel's Angels shop by clicking on the 'shop' tab above.
Annabel’s Angels run in Race For Life
The story of the life and sad death of Annabel Hancox is one that many people can relate to. In a vivid display of support, there are around 60 women running as Annabel’s Angels in over 10 venues in this year’s Race For Life. From Aberdeen to Folkestone, women are wearing their Annabel’s Angels t-shirts and wristbands (and hoodies if the weather is cold enough) with pride as they complete their 5 or 10km challenges. If you see them as they run by, please give them an extra cheer! Many of these women only met Annabel after her diagnosis of breast cancer and knew her as an online friend via the Macmillan forums. Her supportive nature, humour and determination shone through and very strong bonds were formed. Her personality and strength of character is still touching women and is helping to create better support services for those affected by cancer in the Derby area.
If you would like to complete either 5 or 10km in Race for Life as an Annabel’s Angel, please email annabelsangels@gmail.com or leave a message on our Facebook page.
Annabel's Angels on the BBC
The BBC interviewed Simon recently. They have put together this short film giving you an idea of how things started and where the group is going. The film tells how Annabel helped other women in a similar situation to her, even though she was seriously ill. Annabel's Angels looks to build on the work started by Annabel.
Annabel's Angels Launch Event 11 May 2013
Some photos from our launch event here courtesy of Jason Hicking of Replica Imaging Limited. Many thanks Jason, they're great. A huge thanks to everyone who braved the rain to come down and support us. We saw a few familiar faces and some not so familiar. The Mayor of Derby turned up to formally open Annabel's Angels with a champagne toast to Annabel and the group.
A special thank you to the wonderful team at our partners Saks Derby City. They have been an absolute delight to work with and we can't wait to put on more events during the year with them. They are clearly a business that cares for their customers and the community, and we're very grateful for their support.
Annabel's Angels wristbands are now available to purchase at the following businesses:
SAKS Derby City - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saks-Derby-City/204935022984567?ref=stream
Betty's Farm, Willington - http://bettysfarmshop.co.uk/
Pride Veterinary Centre - http://www.prideveterinarycentre.co.uk/
The Ferrer's Arms Public House - http://www.everards.co.uk/our-pubs/the-ferrers-arms-sinfin/
ASDA Sinfin and two schools will be joining the partnership shortly. A big thank you to all our partners. If you'd like to support our cause and sell any of our merchandise to help people living with cancer, please contact Simon 07402 454752 or email annabelsangels@gmail.com
And finally, thank you to all who continue to support this initiative. We all had a good but difficult day at the launch yesterday. To round it off, the boys and I went to Sainsburys this evening to do a bit of shopping. A stranger came up to us and said "thank you, keep on doing what you're doing, it's helping". She said she recognised us and the logo on our t-shirts from the tv and the papers.
So, let's keep on doing what we're doing. I'm proud to say Annabel's Angels is now open for business.