YBTC November 2022 Newsletter

www.yorksbtc.org.uk

this issue... fundraising highlights research news our events even more support

Here at Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity we’re proud to be here to support anyone impacted by a brain tumour diagnosis – high and low grade, adults and children, patients and family members. We’re offering more than double the support compared to 2020, and we’re excited to continue growing to reach even more people who need us.

keep in touch

If you’ve been impacted by a brain tumour and would like to speak to someone who understands, we’re here at any stage of the journey. If you’re thinking of fundraising or volunteering for us, we would love to hear from you!

info@yorksbtc.org.uk support@yorksbtc.org.uk fundraising@yorksbtc.org.uk

celebrate us turning 20!

We’re celebrating a big birthday in 2023 – YBTC is turning 20. To celebrate reaching this huge landmark, we’d love to invite you to get involved in our events, volunteer for us or even raise some funds to help us continue being here for another 2 decades. Keep your eyes peeled for our celebrations, and if you have an idea for your own challenge or event, please get in touch

We know times are hard this year. We’re so grateful to the people who have continued to support us in various ways, helping us to expand our services to more areas than ever, and fund pioneering research to find a cure for brain tumours. There are lots of ways you can get involved!

volunteering for YBTC

Our volunteers make things happen at YBTC, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their support.

Steph started volunteering with us in 2021. She told us: “A few years after my husband passed away, volunteering for YBTC means I can help families that are going through what we did, from both a funding for the future and support side of things, which is invaluable. Keeping it local allows us to be a great community and it’s fun and rewarding volunteering at all the different types of events.”

From marshalling at events to lending a hand at our fairs, knitting ribbons to helping sort items at our shop, doing admin in our office to handing out flyers – it all helps! We have the volunteering role to suit you, and you can volunteer as and when you’d like to suit your schedule. At times like these, every minute really does matter and makes a huge difference. Contact Jen@yorksbtc.org.uk to find out more about volunteering with Team YBTC.

be a YBTC ambassador

Our wonderful team of Ambassadors continues to go from strength to strength: representing the charity brilliantly, raising money and underpinning everything we do. From cakes to collecting tins, recycling to events, we are humbled by the huge resource of skills and talents they give to YBTC.

This year, we welcomed Chris McPhillimy into the fold, who will focus on developing our Business Connections group. He has been a huge help with our events and corporate fundraising, and brings a wealth of business and coaching experience.

So, our Ambassadors are now: Chris, Christine, Dawn, Ellie, Geoff, Hilary, Janet G, Janet T, Jo, John, Joy, Lisa, Liv, Lucinda, Naomi, Ty and Zoe!

donating to our shop

Having a sort out of your cupboards or wardrobe before Christmas?

Donate any items you no longer wear or use to our charity shop at 31 Otley Road.

And make sure to sign up for Gift Aid, so we can earn an extra 25p for every £1 your items sell for, at no extra cost to you!

So far in 2022…

• You have helped us raise £54,300 in total from selling and recycling at No 31

• We have served 14,200 customers, with over 7,000 people shopping with us in the past 4 months alone

• We have raised an extra £2,500 in GiftAid thanks to our regular shop donors

shopping online

There are also ways to help us when you’re shopping for presents online, without spending any extra.

Use EasyFundraising or AmazonSmile to raise funds for YBTC at no cost to you.

When you sign up at easyfundraising.org.uk and select YBTC as your charity, every time you buy from 1000s of retailers via the EasyFundraising site, a portion of your purchase will be donated to us.

Or, turn on AmazonSmile when logged in to your Amazon account, select YBTC as your chosen charity and start shopping to raise funds!

Find out more about how it works at https://www.yorksbtc.org.uk/Support-Us/ Donate/Fundraise-while-you-shop-online

Wear a Hat Day

We were delighted to be chosen as one of the charities for Wetherby Racecourse’s Wear a Hat Raceday in March. Attendees wore fascinators, flat caps and even jester hats and entered our raffle to help us raise over £1,000.

Clay Days

Back in May we were honoured to be chosen as one of the charities to benefit from the prestigious Charity Clay Day event at Duncombe Park. It was a pleasure to be part of the day and we are delighted to have received a wonderful donation from them.

Fish & Chips & Flat Caps

As part of our Brain Tumour Awareness Month campaign in March, we headed to Catch in Headingley for Fish & Chips & Flat Caps! It was a great night in great company, thanks to our kind sponsors Lazenby’s.

Armed Forces Day

We had a whale of a time in Scarborough at the National Armed Forces Day event, enjoying the sun, sea, sand and a special fly-past! Everyone loved meeting our official YBTC mascot, 'Sir Reebral', kindly printed by Scarborough Digital free of charge.

The Great Yorkshire Show

We returned to the showground this year to sell packets of crisps kindly donated by our sponsor Seabrook, and raised over £500. The Yorkshire Vet even paid us a visit!

Golf Day

13 teams took part in this year’s Charity Golf Day on 9th September. Thanks to all our players, sponsors and the generous companies who donated prizes, we raised nearly £5,000!

North Yorkshire Coastal Ramble

On Saturday 10th September, nearly 60 walkers tackled the Cinder Track, a 21.5-mile coastal walk from Scarborough to Whitby. Between them, our walkers raised over £20,000, making this one of our most successful fundraisers ever!

Our Yarny Army

We’re so thankful to our ‘army’ of volunteers who knitted yellow ribbons for our Childhood Cancer Awareness Month campaign in September. A special thank you to Jools and her sister Shirley, the first members of our ‘Yarny Army’ who led our CCAM campaign by creating the pattern for knitted ribbon badges for others to follow. As well as knitting hundreds of badges, Jools placed boxes to sell in her local community, raising vital funds and awareness!

What’s more, lots of lovely people organised their own events to raise funds this year, with everything from bake sales, zipwires and music concerts to marathons, cycle rides and mountain climbs!

If you’d like to organise your own event in support of YBTC, contact fundraising@yorksbtc.org.uk

2023 events

In 2023, YBTC will be celebrating our 20th Birthday! How will you get involved and help us celebrate 20 years of being there for patients and families?

Here are some of the events we’ve got planned:

Brain Tumour Awareness Month (BTAM) is back throughout March in 2023. If you’d like to share your story with us to help raise more awareness of the symptoms and impact of a brain tumour, contact alice@yorksbtc.org.uk

Throughout March, as part of our BTAM campaign, we’re inviting you to join us for a Flat Cap Brew. Stick on a flat cap or your favourite hat, pop the kettle on and share a selfie with your followers using #FlatCapBrew

On 31st March we’ll be returning to Wetherby Racecourse for their Wear a Hat Day. We’re pleased to be one of the chosen charities again this year and can’t wait for an exciting day at the races!

On 18th May we’ll be holding our next charity Golf Day. We’re so grateful to our hosts Horsforth Golf Club who will be looking after us on the day, and who have recently joined our Business Connections group!

On Sunday 14th May, the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon will take in some of the most scenic countryside around the city, starting and finishing at Headingley Stadium.

Fancy something a little more adventurous? Our next Skydive is on Sunday 30th July at Bridlington Airfield.

On 16th September, we’re pleased to say our North Yorkshire Coastal Ramble will be returning! Join us on a 21.5-mile trek along the Cinder Track, enjoying stunning views and delicious fish and chips!

See our online calendar for more information: yorksbtc.org.uk/events

Light up a Star ...in memory of your loved one

Join us to remember your loved one Sunday 11th December

The Barn at Oakwell Hall, Nova Lane, Birstall, WF17 9LF

This event is a chance to come together to remember loved ones who have sadly passed away, enjoy refreshments and carols from our choir.

To RSVP, please contact Jen@yorksbtc.org.uk and let us know how many guests will be attending.

Thank you to our kind sponsors Leeds Mechanical & Electrical Services for their support with this event.

Find out more at yorksbtc.org.uk/Light-Up-A-Star

It has been an exciting and busy year for our support team. We have worked hard to bring more support than ever to patients and their families across Yorkshire. We now have three support meetups, a Wellbeing Walk, two Friends Get-togethers and seven different Drop-in Cafés, every single month.

We also offer online meetups, bereavement support, counselling, Wellbeing Walks, family events and so many more opportunities to meet others in a similar situation.

To find out more about all the support we offer, go to yorksbtc.org.uk/support

Heather

“I first joined the Wellbeing Walks around two years ago after having surgery for a brain tumour in April 2020, followed by six weeks of radiotherapy. My first walk was at RSPB St Aidan’s Nature Reserve in Leeds.

“I was met at the car park by Marie from the charity who immediately made me feel welcome and introduced me to the other participants. I quickly decided these walks would be beneficial for both my mental and physical health.

“The group has grown considerably over the past two years and I have met some lovely people who have become good friends. Everyone has their own story to tell but we all have brain tumours in common and can share our experiences in a positive way.

“Being out in the open, away from a clinical environment, gives the walks a sense of normality and we have visited some beautiful settings.

“Danny and Angela from Good Footing, who lead the walks, are very understanding to people’s needs and create a safe atmosphere.

Walkers can do as much or as little as they like without any pressure, but plenty of encouragement.

“Family members are also welcome to join the walks and my husband, son, daughter and grandchildren have been on different occasions and always made to feel welcome. Whenever I speak to anyone going through this journey, I recommend them to give it a try and become part of the Wellbeing family.”

Please see the back cover of this newsletter for details on how to buy a virtual gift, to help a patient or carer attend one of our support groups.

Hale, who regularly attends our Wellbeing Walks, shared her experience

join our Patient Advisory Group

We’re looking for patients, family members and carers to give their feedback to help us shape our services and future clinical trials.

You can get involved as much or as little as you like, by answering polls and surveys, attending focus groups or giving feedback over the phone.

Here at YBTC we will use your feedback to make sure our services reflect your needs, while our research teams will take your ideas on board to help improve the treatments and guidance they offer.

One member said: “Being a part of the Patient Advisory Group means I get the opportunity to be involved in giving feedback and ideas in an easy way. I do the bits I want to do and feel good for helping.”

Sign up at yorksbtc.org.uk/patient-advisory-group

give the gift of a book

Did you know? Here at YBTC, we give out free books to patients and loved ones, to help them process difficult feelings including anxiety, sleep loss and grief.

Here are some of the titles we give away to children, young people and adults who need them most:

If you’d be interested in taking home one of our books, please contact support@ yorksbtc.org.uk

We would not be able to run this service without your kind donations, which is why we have an Amazon Wishlist where you can gift the gift of a book to someone impacted by a brain tumour.

If you’d be interested in donating a book, find out how at yorksbtc.org.uk/wishlist

This year we launched our corporate membership group, Business Connections!

This is a fantastic opportunity for your company to come on board with a local charity helping people impacted by a brain tumour across Yorkshire.

Jeff Cohen, Director of Time Communications, said: "YBTC offers vital help and support to so many people without boundaries. Nicki Hood, who I met through networking, is a fantastic representative for the great work the charity does."

In return for a monthly or yearly donation, members receive great benefits including lab tours, networking events, discounts on YBTC events, press coverage, award nights and more.

To find out more, contact Nicki@yorksbtc.org.uk or go to yorksbtc.org.uk/businessconnections

meet our members

hope for the future

On Tuesday 5th July we brought together researchers, clinicians, volunteers and supporters for our first ever Yorkshire Brain Tumour Symposium at the Met Hotel in Leeds.

The theme for the day was “Hope for the Future”. Teams from Leeds, Hull, Sheffield and Huddersfield shared the pioneering work they are doing to find a cure for this devastating illness.

Dr Lucy Stead talked us through research from the University of Leeds into why glioblastoma grow back and resist treatment.

Dr Ryan Mathew showed us some of the innovative technology he is designing to improve diagnostic methods and patient experience, including portable MRI scanners and speech detection.

Ola Rominiyi, Dr Spencer Collis and Kelsey Wosnitzka from the University of Sheffield shared their experiences of building the Sheffield Translational Brain Tumour Research Group.

Antonia Barry, a PhD student at the University of Hull, explained how ‘tissue-on-chip’ technology is helping to keep brain tumour biopsies alive for more viable drugs testing.

Anke Bruning-Richardson spoke about how characterising and modelling glioma cells can lead us to better treatment options.

Dr Heiko Wurdak shared a personal view on discovering a new treatment for aggressive brain cancer.

Find out more about the research projects we are currently funding at yorksbtc. org.uk/current-research

banking on a cure for brain cancer

Biomedical scientist Steven Pollock heads up the Leeds Neuro Research Tissue Bank, jointly funded by YBTC and OSCAR’s. The bank helps researchers to collaborate locally and nationally, using fresh tissue samples to find new treatments and move us closer to a cure.

He told us: “It’s been a busy year for the Leeds Neuropathology Research Tissue Bank. We have received blood and tissue donations from over 100 generous participants being treated at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

“Those, along with the material absorbed from previous Leeds collections, have been used to support six new projects, with three more currently being reviewed by our Management Board.

“These projects cover research into brain metastasis, creating glioma models to test new treatments and studies looking to better understand why brain tumours develop and become resistant to treatment.

“Building on this success, we are hoping to start collecting samples in children populations in the very near future. We are also broadening our reach and forging collaborative partnerships with other facilities across the North of England, including Sheffield NHS Trust and Brain Tumour North West. This will allow us to help support bigger and more ambitious projects in the future.

“We’re very grateful to all the participants and the clinical staff at Leeds who have made this possible so far, and of course the great work of our funders OSCAR’s Paediatric Brain Tumour Charity, YBTC and their amazing donors. We hope to make real impact for all future patients by supporting many more fantastic research projects.”

Did you know? If you’d like to help us fund more projects like these to help us get closer to a cure, you can restrict your donation to be spent specifically on research easily by typing ‘research’ in the ‘reason for donation’ box at yorksbtc.org.uk/donate

christmas cards

We have a gorgeous selection of Christmas cards available from our online shop this year, with packs of 10 from as little as £4

Browse our range of cards at shop.yorksbtc.org.uk

If you’d prefer to go paper-free and send a festive e-card to your colleagues or loved ones, go to dontsendmeacard.com/charities/7tuk

virtual gifts

Know someone who’d love a present that makes a difference to people affected by a brain tumour? Buy them one of our Virtual Gifts, including:

£10 – the cost of two people attending our support group £25 – fund a child’s ticket for our Christmas party £60 – the cost of a counselling session for a patient or carer

We’ll send them a card to thank them for bringing cheer to a family going through a tough time this Christmas.

Find the right virtual gift for you at shop.yorksbtc.org.uk