Chamber rounds off a fabulous year of charity fundraising

12 Dec 2022

Published in: Black Country Chamber of Commerce News

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Chamber Champions Charities

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Chamber rounds off a fabulous year of charity fundraising

Black Country Chamber CEO, Sarah Moorhouse, has handed over cheques for a total of £5,000 to the Chamber’s two chosen charities for 2022 – Parkinson’s UK and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Money was raised throughout the year, including at the Chamber’s recent annual awards night, an office cake sale and coffee morning as well as Chamber team member, Richard Brooks, running 5K every day for a year in aid of the charities.

The result was donations of £2,500 for the two charities.

Aaron Coleman, regional fundraiser for Parkinson’s UK, popped into the Chamber to receive the cheque on behalf of his charity from Sarah.

Aaron said, “Parkinson’s UK is very grateful to Black Country Chamber for including us in its fundraising efforts. These funds will enable us to continue the work we do in not only helping people living with the condition but also to fund vital research into the condition which can only improve the lives of people in the future.”

He highlighted how the funds could be used, “All funds donated to Parkinson’s UK is used really effectively. Just £28 pays for a device to help track physical activity for someone with Parkinson’s, while £45 funds a clinical researcher for three hours, to test ground-breaking new treatments for Parkinson’s.

“£145 pays for five helpline advisers to provide vital support to people with Parkinson’s, their families, friends and carers, for an hour, while £770 funds an MRI brain scan.”

The Teenage Cancer Trust said it too was delighted with the cheque, which would help young people struggling with a cancer diagnosis.

Approximately 220 young people from the West Midlands are newly diagnosed with cancer each year, and eight in 10 found the mental health impact of a diagnosis as difficult as the physical side.

To help them get through their fight with cancer, £20 raised pays for sufferers to receive an hour’s mental health coaching from the charity’s multi-disciplinary team, while £30 pays for an hour of support from a specialist nurse.

However, funds are also spent helping the young people enjoy normal activities that bring fun into their lives: £25 could buy a PS4 or Xbox game for young people being treated on the unit to encourage them to spend time together, and £200 could pay for one of our youth support co-ordinators to give a group of young people a night out at the cinema or bowling – a world away from their treatments and hospital appointments.

The Chamber will be announcing the charity it has chosen to support next year in the coming weeks.

-ENDS-

Image: Sarah Moorhouse with Aaron Coleman from Parkinson’s UK