Heywood & Hopwood June 2016

A TRIBUTE TO THE WORK OF
THE LOCAL CRUK
COMMITTEES
On Wednesday 4th May, three members of the Heywood and Rochdale local Cancer Research Committee,
Margaret Frain, Kath Hazlehurst and Audrey Wardell, were invited to a prestigious event at the St Pancras
Hotel in London. This was in recognition of the fantastic fundraising efforts of the Heywood and Rochdale
committees.
Between them, the two committees, which have recently combined, have raised £100, 000 over the last five years. The tree
ladies travelled to London by train and were officially welcomed by Simon O’Leary, Head of Volunteer Fundraising who,
incidentally, had been a guest at Heywood’s Annual Dinner a few years ago. Considering that this was a National event to
recognise the achievements of selected committees, they were surprised at how few guests there were and this made them realise
how privileged we were to have been invited; an amazing tribute to the work of the Heywood and Rochdale committee. A three
course lunch with wine was served in the dining room of the beautiful St Pancras Hotel.
There were further speeches and the first was given by Simon Ledsham, Director of Trading and Volunteer Fundraising followed by
Ed Aspel, Executive Director of Fundraising and Marketing. He spoke about the Francis Crick Institute, a newly opened research
centre dedicated to understanding the scientific mechanisms of living things. Its work is to help understand why disease develops
and to find new ways to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections and
neurodegenerative diseases.
The Francis Crick Institute is a consortium of six of the UK’s most successful scientific and academic organisations – the Medical
Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK (CRUK), the Wellcome Trust, UCL (University College London), Imperial College
London and King’s College London.
By combining specialist knowledge, expertise and resources from each of these organisations, the Francis Crick Institute
undertakes ground-breaking research across a range of scientific disciplines and helps laboratory discoveries to be turned into
treatments as quickly as possible. The organisations in the consortium have invested a total of around £650 million to establish
the institute and to ensure that it is resourced to make a major impact.
When it is fully operational, the Francis Crick Institute will employ 1500 staff, including 1250 scientists, and have an operational
budget of approximately £130 million a year.
After the event, the ladies spent some time trying to find their way to the London Underground to do a bit of sightseeing and then
returned by train to Manchester, tired but having thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Audrey Wardell – Heywood and Rochdale Local Cancer Research Committee
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