Over £18,000 will be going to the Guernsey branch of Cancer Research UK, thanks to fundraising efforts by RBC Wealth Management staff during 2013.
These funds will be put towards a ground-breaking research project by Dr Ali Tavassoli at Southampton Cancer Research Centre, which is funded by the Guernsey Committee for Cancer Research UK.
RBC staff nominated Cancer Research UK as their ‘Charity of the Year’, and have taken part in a variety of fundraising activities in the last 12 months. These included bringing in any unwanted items such as clothes and books to ‘donation stations’ around the office, which were resold in the newly opened Cancer Research shop in the Pollet. There were also raffles draws and a tombola competition over the course of the year, all in an effort to maximise the final donation.
Robin Everest, Chairman of RBC’s Sports & Social Committee said: ‘Sadly, more than one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives and we wanted to do what we could to help with research to beat this terrible disease. We managed to raise even more money in 2013 compared with the year before, which was a fantastic way to end our 40th anniversary year on the Island.’
Clare Cairns, Chair of the Guernsey Committee of Cancer Research UK said: ‘We are delighted to receive such a valuable contribution from RBC. Dr Tavassoli discovered he could stem the growth of cancer cells by using certain molecules: in breast cancer, ctBP proteins pair up to help tumour cells multiply, so his team have developed a series of ‘blocking’ chemicals to prevent them sticking together. They are developing these as drug-like molecules which could one day be used to treat breast cancer.
‘As you can imagine, this is a long and slow process which can’t be achieved without consistent funding, which is why the support of companies like RBC is central to a successful outcome.’
For 2014, RBC Wealth Management staff have chosen Guernsey Alzheimer’s Association as their Charity of the Year for 2014.