Women urged to get on their bikes to support people affected by cancer

Macmillan Cancer Support is calling on women in Edinburgh to sign up and take part in Scotland’s biggest women only bike ride. This year the Macmillan Cycletta Scotland returns to Scone Palace, near Perth, on Sunday 19 July and as the event’s official charity partner Macmillan hopes to raise much needed funds to support people locally affected by cancer.

Macmillan Cycletta is the UK’s leading series of women only bike rides. Taking place on marshalled country roads, with distances of 20, 50, 100 and 150km to choose from at Scone, it’s a fabulous day out and a great chance for women to get together.

There are medical, mechanical and treat stops along the route, a Recovery Zone at the finish, and lots for supporters to see and do in the grounds of Scone Palace where parking is free. The day’s fun also includes the LittleLife Scootathlon, a mini fun triathlon for children aged 4 – 8.

Edinburgh Fundraising Manager, Jayne Forbes said: “Macmillan believes that nobody should face cancer alone and that’s why we’re calling on all women to join Team Macmillan and help us raise as much money as possible at this year’s Cycletta Scotland. Whether you haven’t ridden a bike for years or you’re a keen cyclist who’s excited by the new 150km distance, there’s something challenging but achievable for everyone and the stunning Perthshire countryside makes this a wonderful route for all abilities.

“Macmillan is delighted to be the official charity partner of Cycletta and we look forward to welcoming Team Macmillan cyclists as they take part in this fabulous event, encouraging more women to take up cycling.”

There are still places available for Cycletta Scotland, just visit www.macmillan.org.uk/cyclettascotland to register.

The entry fee isn’t included in fundraising so remember to say “yes” to join Team Macmillan when you register to receive your Cycletta fundraising pack and training guide so that you can help change the lives of people affected by cancer.

Edinburgh Reds go green!

The Edinburgh branch of the Manchester United Supporters Club has raised £1000 from a club raffle for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The branch, founded in 2001 by Peter Wood and Ian McKenzie, organise cost-effective luxury coach travel to United games for Scottish supporters.

Branch Chairman Peter Wood said: “Supporting Macmillan is a no brainer for us. Who hasn’t been touched by cancer? Raising funds is something we can do easily and very readily.”

Ian added: “I am aware of the support and care Macmillan offer as my wife is a nurse. This is an important cause to lots of people and one everyone should support them if they can.”

Macmillan’s Edinburgh Fundraising Manager, Jayne Forbes, said: “We couldn’t fund the services we provide without the support of people like the Edinburgh Reds. We support and improve the lives of people affected by cancer by providing practical, medical, emotional and financial support and by pushing for better cancer care. We’d like to thank Reds committee members Peter, Ian, Umeir, Waqqas and Gordon as well as the entire club for their excellent help.”

Showcase: Raising the roof to support cancer charity

Showcase25 Launches!

Last week saw the launch of Showcase25, with the cast of a hundred finding out what is going to be in the 25^th anniversary celebration of Showcase on 29 and 30 May in the King’s Theatre.

Showcase is a musical theatre company which has performed annually since 1990 to raise money for charity using the musical skills and talents of some of the best ‘non-professional’ performers in Edinburgh and the surrounding area. Their aim is to produce a highly entertaining and professional show incorporating a wide variety of musical styles.

Cast member Amanda Hendrie, said: “Showcase25 will be my ninth show performing with Showcase and I cannot wait to perform on the King’s Theatre stage in May! The programme for this show is very strong and I am excited to be getting into rehearsals and putting it all together.”

Showcase25 will be a musical extravaganza paying tribute to Showcase past, present and future. It will feature a selection of the very best of Showcase including songs by Queen and Adele, as well as musical numbers from Les Miserables and Wicked.

Director, Andy Johnston, said: “It has been very difficult compiling a show that accurately represents 25 years worth of Showcase hits – our first draft programme would have run for nearly four hours! – but we feel this show will be an accurate representation of where Showcase came from, and of where we are now.”

While everyone involved performs in Showcase because of their love of the theatre, there is also a very serious side. Showcase is an important fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, having raised over £220,000 to date.

Andy Johnston added: “Each and every one of our cast gives so freely of their talents and time all to benefit Macmillan Cancer Support – I often remind the cast that as a company, we are in a very special position that we have a hobby than can genuinely change someone else’s life – and what can be more important than that?’

With 310,000 people diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year, many of the cast and supporters of Showcase have been affected by cancer and have first-hand experience of the support Macmillan gives.

Jayne Forbes, Macmillan Cancer Support Fundraising Manager, Edinburgh said: “We are extremely grateful to Showcase for their considerable support to date. They have raised an incredible amount of money which has helped us make a real difference to the lives of people affected by cancer.

“We help people in many ways, from specialist nurses and doctors, to help and advice for people who have financial worries as a result of their cancer diagnosis.

“In Edinburgh there are 53 specialist Macmillan nurses and health care professionals, helping people living with cancer and their families receive essential medical, practical and emotional support.

“None of this would be possible without supporters like Showcase. 98% of our funding comes from public donations. Quite simply, we couldn’t provide our services with support of local people.”

With over 100 voices singing in glorious harmony, it is bound to raise the roof of the King’s Theatre. Tickets are from £15 and are available at www.edtheatres.com/showcase.

Macmillan tops 2014 charity poll

Macmillan Cancer Support was the top charity brand of 2014, analysis from YouGov’s CharityIndex has shown. Macmillan is named the research company’s best charity brand for the second year running.

YouGov’s 2014 CharityIndex, which is compiled using data on the public’s perception of charities on a daily basis, ranked Cancer Research UK in second place (up from third in 2013), and armed forces charity Help for Heroes in third (down from second).

The rest of the top five is rounded off by the British Heart Foundation in fourth position (which moves up from sixth place last year) and the Royal British Legion in fifth (which drops by one).

Across the top ten charity brands last year only one, the Royal British Legion, increased its average year-on-year ‘buzz score’. It’s score rose by 0.6 points following the hundredth anniversary of the start of World War One which generated heightened media coverage. One other, Marie Curie Cancer Care, stayed exactly the same. However, all of the other charities in the top ten had lower average scores across 2014 compared to 2013.

CharityIndex measures the public’s perception of charities on a daily basis across a range of measures. YouGov’s 2014 rankings were compiled using Buzz scores from across the year. Buzz scores measure whether people have heard good versus bad news about a charity in the previous two weeks.

YouGov’s 2014 end of year charity brand Buzz rankings (2013 rank in brackets):

1 (1) Macmillan Cancer Support – 18.3

2 (3) Cancer Research UK – 12.8

3 (2) Help for Heroes – 11.2

4 (6) British Heart Foundation – 7.6

5 (4) Royal British legion – 7.3

6 (8) British Red Cross – 6.7

= (5) RNLI – 6.7

= (9) Dogs Trust – 6.7

9 (12) Marie Curie Cancer Care – 6.6

10 (7) Guide Dogs– 5.8

Briony Gunstone, Associate Director at YouGov, said: ‘This is the second year we have released end of year charity brand rankings and Macmillan Cancer Support once again heads the list. It is notable just how stable the top ten is. Clearly these charities are all still engaging in activity that is achieving cut through among the public.

“One area that is worth watching over the next 12 months is that – with just two exceptions – there has been a small decrease in the scores across the charities on the list. It could be a small wobble that will right itself next time. If it continues into next year’s figures, though, it could speak to a wider problem among the sector.”

Earlier this month Macmillan Cancer Care released a study that showed there will be a record high 2.5 million people living with cancer in the UK in 2015, an increase of almost half a million people over the last five years.

Sainsbury’s and D Mains double up to support Macmillan

Colleagues from Sainsburys Blackhall – with the help of the parents and pupils of Davidsons Main Primary School – held a Macmillan coffee morning on Friday (26 September) and raised an amazing £1,000 for the Macmillan nurses!

A huge thank you to all involved!

Gail Wilson
Sainsburys Blackhall

Who’s your favourite coffee companion?

With the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning organisers putting the finishing touches to fundraising plans, Macmillan has revealed the celebrities you’d most like to have coffee with. And the winner is … Stephen Fry (and he’d take you for a lemon polenta cake with a strong black coffee!)

Macmillan Cancer Support has revealed that Stephen Fry is the nation’s ideal coffee date, as the charity releases research around the nation’s hot drink and cake habits ahead of flagship fundraising event, the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning taking place this Friday.

Macmillan’s research, conducted by One Poll, suggests that national treasures are the coffee flavour of the day, with Stephen Fry, David Attenborough Nigella Lawson, Joanna Lumley and Julie Walters coming out top of the list of people Brits would most like to go for a coffee with, ahead of young guns like Miley Cyrus, Nick Grimshaw and Jay-Z.

Stephen Fry said: “I’m delighted to have been named as the person the Great British public would most like to go for a coffee with – what a lovely lot they are! In case you were wondering, we’d go to a quiet coffee shop, I’d have a strong black coffee and we’d both indulge in my favourite cake, a hefty slice of Lemon Polenta.

“The work Macmillan does really is invaluable and the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is a fantastic way of getting people together to raise money for such a worthwhile cause – I wish everyone taking part the best of luck!”

Further insights show that coffee has (just) knocked tea off its perch as the nation’s favoured hot beverage, with 51% of those surveyed saying they’d pick a cup of coffee over a brew, and are most likely to have one at 10.48am. The research also shows that Brits enjoy an average of 2.63 coffees every day, with over a quarter (27%) gulping down least 4 coffees a day, the equivalent of 91,980 mugs in a lifetime[2]!

Whilst lattes (20%) and cappuccinos (15%) are popular choices, over half (55%) of those polled admitted that they were most likely to go for the easy instant option when making it for themselves.

A hard habit to kick, over a quarter of Brits (26%) said that they would rather abstain from social media than go without coffee for the week, whilst one in five (20%) would be prepared to give up booze and 15% would even give up sex.

One in ten (11%) of those surveyed also admitted to spending up to £25 a week on coffee – that’s £81,900 in a lifetime – over three times the UK’s average salary[3]. Despite having the highest ratio of tea drinkers (53%), Londoners spend the most on coffee each week at £8.81, whilst people in the South West spend less than half that amount, with a respectable weekly coffee budget of just £4.26.

Moving on to sweet treats to accompany our coffee habits, the survey revealed that chocolate cake (21%) was the number one choice, closely followed by carrot cake (18%) and Victoria sponge (16%). Nearly a third of Brits (30%) also admitted to dunking their biscuit, with 16% going for the ‘all at once’ tactic.

Hannah Redmond from Macmillan Cancer Support said: “It’s really insightful to see how the nation takes their coffee and cake ahead of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning this Friday. At 24 years old, it’s the most successful charity fundraising event of its sort, having raised over £113million to date. This year we estimate that 5 million coffees will be drunk, 10 million slices of cake eaten and you’ll never be further than half a mile away from a coffee morning[4]. It really will be the world’s biggest coffee morning!”

Some more fascinating facts:

• Brits are most likely to raise a mug of coffee at 10.48 with chocolate cake as the perfect accompaniment

• 1 in 4 Brits have at least 4 coffees a day and 1 in 10 will spend up to £81,900 on coffee in their lifetime (over three times the average salary)

• Fifteen percent of Brits would rather give up sex than coffee

• Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning takes place on Friday 26th September

For more information go to www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee.

You for coffee?

Is your group, organisation or club supporting Macmillan’s Coffee Morning? If so – let us know – we’ll share your event with NEN readers!

It’s Macmillan’s biggest fundraising event, where people across the UK are asked to hold a coffee morning and raise money for people living with cancer. In 2013, 154,000 people signed up, raising a record £20 million.

Cancer is the toughest fight most of us will ever face. And as treatments improve, more and more people are living with cancer in their daily lives. The money you raise at your coffee morning will help make sure no one has to face cancer alone, from the moment they’re diagnosed, through treatment and beyond.

Join Gladys at PYCP’s event on Saturday from 10.30 – 2pm!

Also on Saturday, Granton Parish Church Big Coffee Morning kicks off at 10am in the West Hall. Can you help? Contact Heather McArdle

You can also sign up to host your own coffee morning by visiting www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee or telephone 0300 1000 200.

Port of Leith’s bean busy supporting charity coffee morning

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has raised nearly £1300 for Macmillan Cancer Support. PoLHA’s sheltered housing developments at St Nicholas Court in Ferry Road and Hermitage Court in Academy Park in Leith hosted events for their residents and locals as part of the charity’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ initiative.

Around thirty people attended Hermitage Court’s light lunch and over forty people enjoyed the delights of home-made soup, home bake sale and raffle at St Nicholas Court. The complexes raised a very tasty £1087 between them, and a staff coffee morning at PoLHA’s Constitution Street office raised a further £209!

Maureen Tait, Senior Sheltered Housing Coordinator for PoLHA who manages St Nicholas Court, said: “We are delighted so many people came along to help makes the coffee mornings a success. Without their generosity we would not have been able to raise such a vast amount of money to this fantastic cause.”

College photography students snap up funds for charity

Edinburgh College photography students are hoping to raise funds for two charities as part of their end of year exhibition.

The students are showcasing their latest artwork in Woodland Creatures off Leith Walk, with iconic real life photos of the city and its people as their main inspiration. All of the original photographs have been specially hand-printed and toned in the darkrooms in the College’s own studios.

The Street Photography exhibition runs until 30 May and visitors will have the chance to buy the work with 50 per cent of the proceeds donated to Cclasp and Macmillan Cancer Support charities. Over £100 has been raised for the charities so far.

Photography: Derek Anderson (photographer), HNC Photography student, Edinburgh College