In the year that we turn 40, we’re excited to launch a unique partnership with media group Trinity Mirror, which will see us telling our story to a millions of people across the UK during 2014.
The stories of Anthony Nolan, and the thousands of lives that have been saved by his legacy, will be told all year in Trinity Mirror newspapers, which include the Daily Mirror and The People, as well as a huge network of regional papers such as Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Mail and many more. This is the first charity partnership to span Trinity Mirror’s regional and national titles.
The partnership launches today with the story of Simon Bostick, who became a national figure in the Seventies when, as a baby, he became the first ever recipient of a successful bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor.
Adrian's legacy
Trinity Mirror's involvement is inspired by the work of former Huddersfield Examiner reporter Adrian Sudbury, who died from leukaemia in 2008.
Before his death Adrian spearheaded our ‘Register and Be A Lifesaver’ education programme, which has reached more than 100,000 students and resulted in more than 4,300 of those young people signing up as potential bone marrow donors.
The year-long partnership aims to raise funds and awareness of Anthony Nolan, which runs the UK bone marrow register. The blood cancer charity has been saving lives for four decades by matching remarkable people willing to donate their bone marrow to patients in desperate need of a transplant.
How it all began
It all began in 1974. With her three-year-old son Anthony in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant, Shirley Nolan set up the world's first register to match selfless donors with people in need. Forty years on, the charity is saving more lives each year – and these remarkable stories will be told across Trinity Mirror’s titles in 2014.
Neil Benson, Editorial Director, Regionals, said: “Over the past ten years, our regional titles have worked in a co-ordinated way with many leading charity organisations, including the Prince's Trust, Childline and the NSPCC, but this is the first time a partnership of this type has spanned our regional and national titles.
“The human stories are truly inspiring, from the Nolan family themselves to donors, recipients, doctors, nurses and volunteer helpers right across the country. We're looking forward to producing a really compelling campaign that only our unique mix of titles and web sites can offer.”
You can help us save lives
Richard Davidson, Director of Communications and Marketing at Anthony Nolan, said: “Our identity as a charity is rich with poignant and inspiring stories, many of which have been told in Trinity Mirror’s national and regional titles over the past four decades.
“Working with Trinity Mirror today gives us a unique and powerful opportunity to tell our story to a combined audience of millions, enabling us to grow our lifesaving register and carry out world-class research into blood cancer at a crucial time in our history. By choosing to support Anthony Nolan in its 40th year, Trinity Mirror readers and staff are doing something amazing; they are helping save lives.”
Keep reading your favourite Trinity Mirror paper all year for more incredible human interest stories about bone marrow donors, blood cancer survivors, and the inspiring people who support our work.
To show your support, text MIRR99£5 or MIRR99£10 to 70070, or visit www.justgiving.com/Mirror-AnthonyNolan