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.

Chesford Grange Exterior

Ringwood Hall Hotel, Chesterfield

 

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!

 

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.

annabel's angels at Derby countyCheck 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! royal derby hospital

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.

James Lewis

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:

It was a pretty overcast and grey start to the day when we made our way to Darley Park in Derby for the home town Race for Life. Dressed in pyjamas and decorative head wear, it didn't take long for us to fit in with the steady stream of women in the uniform bright pinks arriving to battle cancer.
Race for Life is a very emotional day for most participants, for some it's a personal triumph, the first physical challenge after undergoing months of gruelling cancer treatments . It can be a celebration of survivorship of a loved one or sadly in many cases Race for Life participants are raising money in loving memory of the fallen ones. Although women are decked in the bright, fluffy, tutus and tiaras and the atmosphere is light and cheery, the sombre messages pinned to the bright t-shirts mingle with the declarations of war on this vile disease.
This year more than ever I noticed that many people had simply written I am racing for everyone or for a cure. With 1 in 3 of us diagnosed with cancer within our lifetimes, most people will have first hand experience of either a loved one or indeed themselves being diagnosed. For us, it was extremely poignant, a mere 7 months after Annabel's sad departure we were gathered with her close friends and family to remember her and there was a huge sense of pride standing there in our winged t-shirts and wristbands.
Before Simon took to the stage to share his story of Annabel, another group of local women were invited to share their stories from Tesco's, the occasion was overwhelming for some and listening I felt the raw pain and emotion of the story of her friend's struggling with an advanced cancer. Breast Cancer isn't pink and fluffy, it can be debilitating and by sharing stories it helps to provide people with a greater insight to the challenges that being diagnosed with cancer can bring. The one minute silence before the start of race was no doubt filled with silent or whispered prayers to our dearly departed loved ones.
Around 10.30 am, amongst a sea of cerise pink, neon wigs and excited faces, Simon, Will and Sam, Annabel's son's,announced the start of the race with a count down and a fierce declaration of 'Cancer we're coming to get you !!' The sun decided to burst through the earlier haze and beat down on the 4,000 plus women and children as they burst through the start.
DSCF1365
To stay it was hot would be an understatement, it was a glorious day in Darley Park and as we made our way around the 5km we were grateful for the shady interludes as a reprieve from the strong rays of the sun. Annabel's Angels home team was a fantastic representation of friends and family, Will and Sam's teachers, some of us has travelled from far and wide. Aberdeen, Folkestone and London Angel's rubbed shoulders and walked beside Derby Angels to celebrate Annabel's life.
There was a huge sense of unity and after crossing the finishing line, there were embraces and celebratory drinks. Whilst walking we chatted and shared stories of how we knew Annabel, wonderful stories of happy times, and the sun shone on us as if Annabel was there walking with us. I've attended a few Race for Life events in the past, but never felt such a welcoming atmosphere as at Darley Park, and we left the park making a commitment that we will all meet up and do this again - this will be an annual event.
Whilst I never had the good fortune to meet Annabel in person it is absolutely clear to see what a wonderful and inspiring woman she was, in fact still is, that she is bringing people together and helping others even now. Annabel we all thank you.

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.Middlesbrough teamMiddlesbrough 2Middlesbrough 3 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.

Race for Life Derby

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.

Simon xGroup Photo Annabel's Angels Launch Event

Annabel's Angels merchandise from launchMayor of Derby at Annabel's Angels launch eventSimon and Will with the Mayor of DerbyPhoto of the group from the launch eventAnnabel's Angels Simon speak to the group