Jersey Friends is celebrating 20 years of fundraising for us, a partnership that has touched many residents’ lives personally. The volunteers have inspired the local community and raised nearly £500,000 for Anthony Nolan, the largest amount raised by a community group in the 40 year history of the charity.
Representatives from Anthony Nolan attended a fundraising event in February to present Jersey Friends with their 20 year anniversary award. We congratulated them on their “incredible achievement”, describing it as “a remarkable milestone“.
Jersey Friends have raised over £500,000 for Anthony Nolan
Anthony Nolan, now in its 40th anniversary year, was the world’s first bone marrow donor register. We've been saving lives for four decades by matching remarkable people willing to donate their bone marrow to patients in desperate need of a transplant. Among these remarkable people are Jersey residents including Jack le Brun, who donated his bone marrow to a stranger in 2012.
Local volunteer Tracey Hughes realised the importance of Anthony Nolan when her son, Rhys, received a transplant ten years ago. When he was just five years old Rhys Hughes, now 15, was diagnosed with Serious Combined Immunodeficiency, which makes children extremely vulnerable to infectious diseases. The family were told that he would need a bone marrow transplant to cure his condition and anxiously waited to hear if there was a matching donor. We found a matching donor for Rhys and he has been able to have a normal childhood, cured of his condition.
'A remarkable milestone'
Jersey Friends hold several fundraising events every year including a golf day at Wheatlands Golf Course and a petanque event at Les Quennevais. Last year they were one of three benefiting charities of the Splash for Cash Charity Golf Open at Les Mielles Golf and Country Club and also received a generous donation from Jersey Water for their donor recruitment activity.
Alex Hildrew, our Head of Community Fundraising at Anthony Nolan, said, “This is a remarkable milestone for Jersey Friends and we’re delighted to be able to celebrate it with them. Over the years, many Jersey residents have been personally touched by Anthony Nolan’s lifesaving work. The record-setting fundraising that the volunteers are doing enables us to help more people with blood cancers and disorders. We would like to thank all of the volunteers who continue to support Anthony Nolan and congratulate them on this incredible achievement.”
How you can help
If you'd like to set up your own community group and raise more money to help us save lives, you can get help and support on this area of our site.