Anthony Nolan has praised the lifesaving legacy of its status as the official charity of the Virgin Money London Marathon and the Virgin Money Charity of the Year.
Thanks to the united efforts of marathon runners and Virgin Money staff, the charity has raised £1.4 million in the year that it celebrates its 40th anniversary.
The funds will enable Anthony Nolan to recruit 14,000 potentially lifesaving donors onto the bone marrow register.
Virgin Money staff voted for pioneering charity Anthony Nolan to benefit from its two major fundraising activities – the Virgin Money London Marathon 2014 Official Charity, and its Charity of the Year partnership for employees. The results smashed Anthony Nolan’s target of £1.1 million.
Catherine Miles, Director of Fundraising at Anthony Nolan, says: “We have had a fantastic year working with the London Marathon and Virgin Money, and the results will save lives. The partnership was embraced at every level of the charity from the Chief Executive and the Board, to the 800 volunteers who lined the route on marathon day to cheer on our 500 amazing runners.
“Within Virgin Money, the enthusiasm was second-to-none and we saw a truly united effort from offices, stores, lounges, clients and suppliers to smash their previous year’s fundraising total.”
The 14,000 potential bone marrow donors who will be recruited thanks to the partnership will stay on the bone marrow register until they are 60 years old, giving hundreds of blood cancer patients the chance of life.
More than 500 people ran the Virgin Money London Marathon for Anthony Nolan in its official charity year, 80% of whom had a personal connection to the cause - including 132 people running in memory of a loved one lost; 13 people who have donated stem cells to a patient, and 16 transplant survivors.
One of Anthony Nolan’s runners was dad-of-two Johnny Pearson who, after hearing that Anthony Nolan was the official charity, decided to run the marathon with the donor who saved his life, Sean Hagan. Their moving story was central to the narrative over race weekend, securing national media coverage and trending on Twitter.
“It was truly a team that represented every aspect of Anthony Nolan’s vital work and the journey our patients go on,” says Catherine Miles. “It was therefore highly rewarding for our runners and other supporters to play such an important part in raising such an incredible total which will save the lives of blood cancer patients for years to come.”