SAY GOODNIGHT TO BRAIN TUMOURS. Saving lives through research, information, awareness & policy

Transcription

1 SAY GOODNIGHT TO BRAIN TUMOURS A big idea for little fundraisers Plus loads of other ways to get your primary school involved Saving lives through research, information, awareness & policy thebraintumourcharity.org/saygoodnight fundraising@thebraintumourcharity.org The Brain Tumour Charity Registered Charity no (England and Wales) SC (Scotland)

2 IT S TIME to Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of people under 40, with one child dying of the disease every three days. This means that you are very likely to have a pupil who is, or will be, affected by a diagnosis. Help us help them by getting your school involved in fundraising for our pioneering research, support and awareness programmes. We can t wait to welcome you to Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours, kindly supported by Aykroyds, the character nightwear suppliers. It s great fun and easy to organise with our template letter to parents, press release and posters. Turn to page 6 to get started. Thank you for supporting The Brain Tumour Charity. Sarah Lindsell Chief Executive The Brain Tumour Charity Do you know a child or family member affected by a brain tumour? Our Support and Information team, including a dedicated Children and Families Worker, is here for you / support@thebraintumourcharity.org 2

3 WHY THE BRAIN TUMOUR CHARITY? As the pre-eminent brain tumour charity in the UK, we work at the forefront of research, support and awareness raising. Every year we invest 2.5m in worldclass research. The work we fund is making real breakthroughs, delivering potential new treatments and more effective diagnosis techniques to improve survival rates. We also provide comprehensive support and information over the phone, online and face-to-face. Our Children and Families Worker organises days out for families affected by a brain tumour and Brainy Bags for every child diagnosed in the UK. HeadSmart, our awareness campaign, is shortening unacceptable diagnosis times for childhood brain tumours to save lives and reduce long-term disabilities. Read more on page 10. By signing up to Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours your school will be making a real difference. Here s how the money you raise will help us: 250 could cover the cost of giving 10 children and their families the immediate support and information they need after diagnosis. 500 would pay for 2,000 families to receive a HeadSmart symptoms card, ensuring that brain tumours in children are diagnosed as early as possible. 1,000 could enable a researcher to analyse tumour samples, helping us develop new treatments and more effective diagnosis techniques. 3

4 THE STORIES Together, we can help children just like Iona and Harry. Every penny your school raises will go directly to world-class research, support and our HeadSmart campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of childhood brain tumours amongst parents, doctors, nurses and teachers. IONA When Iona was five, she was diagnosed with a craniopharyngioma brain tumour. She went through ten hours of surgery which left her with some brain damage and without the ability to produce important hormones. Sadly, the tumour grew back a year later and Iona went on to endure a six week course of daily radiotherapy. She lost large patches of hair, had extreme tiredness and suffered radiation burns. Iona has just started secondary school. She loves reading Roald Dahl and Michael Morpurgo, watching films and playing on her Nintendo DS and Kindle Fire. With her family, Iona is an active fundraiser for The Brain Tumour Charity and in June 2013 played her part in a rowing marathon. Every six months Iona has a scan to monitor her brain tumour, which started growing again in

5 HARRY Harry s mum Penny knew something wasn t right for three years before he was eventually diagnosed with a type of brain tumour called a juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (grade 1) at the age of seven. Since Harry was five years old, Penny had been a regular visitor to the GP with him, reporting symptoms of extreme tiredness and wobbly handwriting. The GP explained that some children were just tired all the time. After two years Harry was finally referred to a paediatrician. After an initial misdiagnosis, Harry s tumour was diagnosed and he underwent surgery. Some months later the tumour regrew and Harry had a long course of chemotherapy. Harry is now 17 and getting on with his life. He has to have a scan once a year but his tumour has shown no signs of growth for over five years. As a result of the chemotherapy, Harry is deaf in his left ear which Penny feels could have been avoided if Harry s diagnosis had been made earlier by linking his symptoms and referring him for a scan. The Brain Tumour Charity helped me and my family through my tumour and I am very grateful to them for helping me survive. 5

6 SAY GOODNIGHT TO BRAIN TUMOURS We re so excited to tell you about our big new fundraiser that we hope to spread to as many schools around the country as possible. Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours is a really simple way to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity. Just ask your pupils to donate 1 or 2 to wear their pyjamas for the day. It s much more fun than a mufti day and teachers can get involved too by dressing up as a character from a fairy tale, wearing a novelty onesie or becoming a superhero for a day in Batman pyjamas! You can make Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours an exciting part of your school day by getting the children to bring in their favourite bedtime story to read aloud to the rest of the class. Or add a bit of variety to lunchtime by holding a big teddy bear s picnic in the hall or on the playground. Don t forget to check out the downloadable Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours template letter to parents, press release and posters on our website: thebraintumourcharity.org/saygoodnight Aykroyds, the character nightwear suppliers, have kindly agreed to supply every school that raises money through Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours with a pair of pyjamas or two to use as a prize on the day. Let us know that you re taking part ( fundraising@ thebraintumourcharity.org or call ) and we ll send your pyjamas straight away! 6

7 Want to try something else too? If you re planning fundraising events throughout the year, we ve got loads of ideas to get you started! Bandanas for Brain Tumours Day On the first Friday of March every year, offices, gyms, schools and pubs all over the country take part in Bandanas for Brain Tumours Day. Everyone pays 1 to wear a bandana for the day, in any way they want, to raise funds and spread the word about brain tumours as far as possible. Find out how to get your school involved and buy our exclusive bandana at thebraintumourcharity.org/bandanas. Cakes at home-time Everyone loves a tasty treat or two, so encourage your pupils and their parents to get baking and hold an afternoon cake sale for fellow pupils, staff and parents. You could raise more funds by holding a best brew contest or a cake decorating competition. Sponsored silence Talk to your pupils about staying silent for a morning, a day or just playtime in exchange for sponsorship from family and friends. Get active Turn your annual sports day into a fundraising event, ask pupils to get sponsored to walk to school for a week, or sell refreshments for children and parents at a school football match. Halloween disco Everyone will love a Halloween disco themed with spooky decorations, costumes and snacks. Charge for entry and refreshments. If you re already holding an event, we can supply collection tins and buckets for donations on the day. Need more inspiration? Try these ideas: Talent show Treasure hunt Christmas carolling Baked bean bath Fashion show Sponsored walk Car wash Bonfire night party Science quiz Bring and buy sale Music concert 7

8 BECOME A CHAMPION SCHOOL Help us spread the word about brain tumours As a Champion, you ll help other schools in your area Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours. We d like you to explain a little about our work and our HeadSmart campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of brain tumours in children. Don t worry we ll be here every step of the way. We can provide you with all the information you need, a variety of branded promotional materials and a dedicated contact at The Charity. We can also visit you in your school to give special assemblies, help you get coverage in your local press and tell everyone about the good work you re doing through our website, newsletters and social media profiles. Being a Champion School is fun and your students will love leading the way! If you want to get involved, fundraising@ thebraintumourcharity.org or call and we ll be in touch. OMG. Such a cool fundraiser, the best we ve ever done! Do it! The best Ellie, age 16 day ever! Fliss, age 6 We re really excited to get involved in Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours! It s a great way to support such a worthy cause and we will be encouraging our pupils to read their favourite bedtime stories to each other, so they are practising their reading whilst doing their bit for those affected by brain tumours. Mr Lawrence, primary school teacher from Bromley We loved coming in wearing our PJs to raise money to help people with a brain tumour. It was really, really fun! Our headteacher brought in a huge teddy, bigger than my sister. Lucy, age 9 It was funny! And so embarrassing seeing the teachers come to school in their onesies! We raised loads of money too to help other kids. Isaac, age 11 8

9 THINGS FOR YOUR TO-DO LIST Take a moment to read what you can do to make your Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours event safe and successful. Get permission It is important to ensure that parents and guardians are aware of what you re planning to do and why. You can download a template letter to parents explaining Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours and the work of The Brain Tumour Charity: thebraintumourcharity.org/ saygoodnight Keep it safe Children must be supervised at all times and make sure food or drink for your teddy bear s picnic, for example, is prepared in a hygienic place. Don t forget to label any items containing nuts in a cake sale. Ask your pupils to wear their trainers to school and change into their slippers when they get to the classroom. Whatever you re organising, The Charity cannot accept any liability so please check if you need additional insurance. Branded materials Why not make Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours a real occasion at your school? We ve got loads of branded materials available for you to borrow or purchase including collection buckets and tins, balloons, bunting and stickers. Get in touch with the team at fundraising@ thebraintumourcharity.org or Spread the word Take the opportunity to tell everyone about your fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity. Write about Say Goodnight to Brain Tumours in your school s newsletter for parents and use the template press release on our website to contact your local newspapers. If you need any additional advice about spreading the word, comms@thebraintumourcharity.org Gift Aid If you re asking your pupils to collect sponsorship as part of any fundraising event, get them to make sure their sponsors Gift Aid their donations. This way we can claim an extra 25p on every 1. It s easy: Download and print sponsorship forms from thebraintumourcharity.org/fundraisingforms Sponsors need to be UK taxpayers and write their name, home address, postcode and donation amount on the sponsorship form. They must tick the Gift Aid box too. All the sponsorship money must be returned to us with the completed sponsorship forms (turn to page 11 to find out how). 9

10 HEADSMART Reducing diagnosis times Every year in the UK brain tumours are the leading cause of childhood cancer deaths, killing around 125 children. Yet sadly diagnosis times of childhood brain tumours are longer in the UK than in many other countries. Our HeadSmart campaign aims to raise awareness of the symptoms of brain tumours to bring down diagnosis times, reducing long-term disability and saving lives. By educating parents, guardians, doctors and nurses since its launch two years ago, HeadSmart has already reduced the average diagnosis time for a childhood brain tumour from 9.1 to 6.9 weeks. Now we need your help to achieve our aim of bringing diagnosis times across the country down to less than 5 weeks, to be on a par with the best in the world. It s easy to spread the word about brain tumour symptoms around your school. Give one of our handy symptoms cards to every pupil or their parents, display our posters in classrooms, tell everyone on your mailing list how to get the HeadSmart mobile symptoms guide (see the box on the right) or prepare a short assembly. headsmart.org.uk Know the symptoms on-the-go Text SMART to for your free mobile symptoms guide. To order HeadSmart symptoms cards and posters or find out more about the campaign, info@headsmart.org.uk. Get in touch today you could help save a child s life. 10

11 GETTING YOUR MONEY TO US Once you ve finished your fundraising, please make sure you send your money to us as soon as possible Send a cheque to our office: Made payable to: The Brain Tumour Charity Hartshead House, Victoria Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7PA You can also pay by... If your school is near our offices, why not pop in with the money you ve raised? We d love to meet you! Find out where we are: thebraintumourcharity.org/ about-us Credit or debit card Visit thebraintumourcharity.org/payingin or call Once we have received your money, we will send you a thank you letter and a certificate to display at your school. Or pay directly into our bank account... Lloyds Bank Sort code Account Please put your school name as a reference and donations@ thebraintumourcharity.org to let us know. Please encourage eligible sponsors to make Gift Aid declarations (using their home address). We can then claim an extra 25p for every 1 donated. Questions? Contact us: / donations@thebraintumourcharity.org 11

12 Saving lives through research, information, awareness & policy thebraintumourcharity.org Registered office: Hartshead House Victoria Road Farnborough Hampshire GU14 7PA The Brain Tumour Charity Registered Charity no (England and Wales) SC (Scotland) Find us here too