Flame of Hope 2024 Award Winners

Marie took part in our very first Race for Life event an amazing 30 years ago, and has been a stalwart fundraiser, ambassador and campaigner ever since.  Following her own cancer treatment, Marie’s voice and actions speak volumes, and have reached thousands of people undergoing their own experience.  She is living proof that a cancer diagnosis doesn’t mean that you can’t go on to live life to the full and provide hope to others. Marie’s energy is infectious, she inspires and motivates everyone who comes in to contact with her. As she says herself: I realise how lucky I am to be alive, but it’s not just luck, it’s the importance of life saving research! 

When you think of the words CRUK Ambassador, no one comes more strongly to mind than Patrick. Since joining the Campaigns Ambassador programme in 2013, after losing his wife to cancer, Patrick has passionately backed numerous campaigns, including standardised tobacco packaging, Junk-Free and NHS workforce campaigns.  He has developed outstanding relationships with key stakeholders around Wantage and Oxford, including his MP, as well as engaging with thousands via his twitter platform. He has recruited and mentored other ambassadors, helped to create and deliver training sessions and spoken at countless events. In addition, he is a prolific fundraiser, taking part in numerous physical challenges and raising thousands of pounds for the cause. CRUK are incredibly lucky to have him.

Pink Events is a true family affair of strength, love, commitment, passion, and community to raise vital awareness of breast cancer research and support in the local Leeds Community. The group, founded in 2005, have reached an astonishing fundraising milestone of £100,000 for Cancer Research UK and continue to hold exciting, fun, and successful events. Pink Events truly deserves this award as Community Organisation of the Year for their togetherness, bravery, boldness, and strength to raise vital funds and champion awareness of breast cancer research, early diagnosis, treatment, and support.

Riverside & Cronton College has organised eight of their own Race for Life events with their fundraising now totalling £30,000. The students’ drive to raise funds for life-saving research is unwavering - organising each event in their own time, requiring minimal support. The students not only have an opportunity to volunteer and have fun, but to learn more about how they can have a positive impact on the local community, spreading the message about Cancer Research UK's life-saving work. As new cohorts of students enrol into the college, the importance of the event is passed down, ensuring the legacy of their Race for Life continues.

As Marketing Director of Nigel Wright Group, Justin has inspired more than a third of his colleagues to join him in raising funds for Cancer Research UK. Since 2016, Justin and his colleagues, have raised more than £120,000.00, not as part of their everyday roles but in their own free time!  Justins passion, dedication, and selfless commitment to our cause, has opened not only exceptional fundraising opportunities for our charity, but also a fantastic platform that promotes and informs on everything CRUK. Justins support of the charity is truly outstanding. 

For the last 10 years, the Slimming World Team have worked in partnership with CRUK to raise over £20 million. Slimming World delivers two major fundraising campaigns every year, the Big Slimming World Clothes Throw, which sees members donate clothes to our shops and generates between £1-3 million every year, and their Body Magic campaign, which encourages members to fundraise by undertaking a physical challenge.  The Slimming World team go above and beyond their job roles, organising fundraising events at Head Office, co-ordinating stock collections and acting as ambassadors within their local communities. Their incredible fundraising total has not only enabled a huge amount of life-saving research but has also helped to raise awareness of the links between obesity and cancer.

Having volunteered at our Glasgow events for over ten years now, Hugh totally understands what needs to be done to help the events run smoothly. He will arrive early to help with the setup of the site - he is a particular professional when it comes to branding! But he gets stuck in with whatever else needs doing too - moving bins, setting up signage, putting up marquees, unloading vans - the list goes on! He really is a dream to have on site! Whenever we need support Hugh is there.

Kieron has been volunteering at Race for Life events for 11 years, he is such a positive character to have on event day and his bubbly personality rubs off on the team. Kieron always goes the extra mile by supporting our promotions in the area and helping us recruit other volunteers on Facebook and his workplace - Kieron's commitment to CRUK never falters. Kieron is a great advocate for the charity in the community, is a pleasure to work with and is always reliable, CRUK is incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful advocate in Kieron.

For over 13 years, Lucy has been an incredible support for Cancer Research UK in Wales! Her compassion and commitment towards our events has improved supporter and volunteer experience on the day, encouraging people to sign up for future events, and drumming up support for other non-mass events. Lucy has an incredibly helpful personality; her smile is infectious, and she uses both to influence people to support CRUK in a variety of ways. Throughout the years, Lucy has volunteered for us at over 100 events. She is truly incredible.

Lynn sadly passed away in July 2023.

Lynn was a reliable and absolutely incredible volunteer and had supported Cancer Research UK events since 2014.  A whizz at admin, a great marshal, and someone who ensured our event participants were having a great time, the team were always happy to have Lynn on site.  A true team player, Lynn always wanted to support whenever she could, arriving first, leaving last and imparting her knowledge and experience. Lynn continued to support our events right up until two weeks before she sadly lost her battle. She will be deeply missed by our Events team as a great friend and supporter and she will always be remembered fondly.

Rhian has been volunteering at CRUK events for 10 years and began hosting our finish line and warming up at our Race for Life and Pretty Muddy events across London in 2021. Rhian creates a fabulous atmosphere on the finish line, celebrating every single person who crosses, whether they take 20 minutes or 3 hours, she is there ready to greet them with a massive smile on her face. Her positivity is infectious, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award. Rhian is a true inspiration and the definition of an ambassador for CRUK.

The Castlederg committee is a remarkable group of individuals who have been making a positive impact on their community for over 50 years. What started with just four ladies hosting a bazaar in a cattle shed has now become a thriving organization that recently celebrated a remarkable milestone of raising 1 million pounds in 2022. Their consistent success is a testament to their passion for making a difference and their ability to engage the community in their endeavours. They have not only raised significant funds but have also fostered a sense of togetherness and camaraderie within their community.

Having previously been two separate committees, the Heywood & Rochdale Local Committees joined forces in 2016. The group hold a variety of fundraising events, from cheese and wine evenings, to fashion shows, and their annual afternoon tea sees committee members make over 1,000 sandwiches and cakes!  Each event ends with a reminder of why the committee members dedicate so much of their time to Cancer Research UK and a heartfelt thank you to the local community for their life-saving support.  Having raised over £1.7 million, we simply couldn’t have the impact we do without the support of the Heywood & Rochdale Local Committee, and they truly deserve this recognition for their efforts.

In 2023 the Liskeard Local Committee celebrated its 70th year of fundraising. In this time they have raised over £1million for Cancer Research UK. Liskeard Local Committee are famous for their incredibly successful Art Exhibition, a wonderful celebration of artwork from local artists, which consistently raises around £11,000 each year, and they raise £20-30,000 on average, annually. The committee also organises a full calendar of fundraising events from concerts to car boots throughout the year. They embody all of CRUKs values, having a huge impact on their local community, whilst being humble in everything they achieve.

The Newark Cancer Research UK Committee has proven to be one of Nottinghamshire’s most dedicated, ambitious, and longest-standing committees. Last year, the group celebrated its 65th birthday, and, in that time, has raised a staggering £950,000 from a variety of fundraising events, including the committee’s annual Summer Lunch. The group’s structure is very well organised, with sub committees set up for each event, and a new Chairperson every three years, to ensure that new fundraising ideas are developed. All the members actively encourage their friends, family, colleagues and even their business associates to support the charity, and, as a result, the committee is well known across the community for its fundraising and commitment to Cancer Research UK.

Since 1978, the Newry Local Committee has dedicated themselves to fundraising for Cancer Research UK. Their unwavering commitment has recently reached a monumental milestone of raising £1 million, a testament to their remarkable fundraising efforts. Every year, their portfolio of events continues to expand, showcasing a diverse range of activities. The Newry Cancer Research Committee has shown immense dedication and passion towards supporting the charity, exceeding expectations with their commitment and professionalism. They act as excellent ambassadors for the charity and their success is a prime example of the power of a well-structured and focused team.

Brenda has been volunteering with CRUK for 8 years, and every year enters a team into Relay for Life Plymouth called Bob's Crusaders, set up in memory of her brother Bob, who she sadly lost to cancer. Relay for Life Plymouth has raised nearly £400k since 2015, and this is largely down to Brenda and her family organising a full calendar of fundraising events throughout the year.' Brenda brings the fun to everything she does, and she has an amazing sense of humour. She's a wonderful lady and a pleasure to work alongside in the fight against cancer.

Over the past 11 years, Doug has been an enormous advocate, of his wife Julie’s fundraising for Cancer Research UK, through Kate’s Project, in memory of her daughter. Come rain or shine, and often after travelling many miles, Doug is a consistent figure at fundraising events across the South East.  Whether he’s selling fundraising merchandise at a Race for Life event or bucket collecting with a Christmas Choir, Doug can be seen talking to the public and fellow supporters at length, about how dear the cause is to him and his family.  Doug is an incredibly loyal volunteer and supporter of Cancer Research UK and has helped Kate’s project raise a total of over £800,000. 

In August 2020, Felicity and Simon, very sadly, lost their 3-year-old daughter Lily to Leukaemia. To find better, more successful, and kinder treatments for others fighting, or being diagnosed with the same type of cancer as Lily, they decided to set up a just giving page and ask for donations from all those that knew her.  In 2021, with the support of friends and family, Felicity and Simon decided to host a memorial walk.  The 10-mile walk saw over 30 people take part and was a huge success.  With the addition of further fundraising events, such as their memorial birthday family fun day, and Christmas raffle, since 2020, Felicity and Simon have raised over £30,000 for CRUK in memory of Lily.

For eight years, Ken has been completing various challenges for Cancer Research UK, including a four-year epic endurance challenge sailing around 262 islands on the English and Welsh coast in a dinghy the size of two bathtubs. On 7th June 2023 he completed his final island - the Isle of Wight- clocking up a grand total of 1,336 miles. He has now raised over £70,000, generously split between two causes, with £35,355 donated to CRUK. He has gone above and beyond whilst completing his challenges, putting his life on hold. Motivated by the death of his father and mother-in-law to cancer, Ken is a force to be reckoned with and his commitment and contribution to the cause is truly inspiring.

If there was a checklist of what makes the perfect regional coverage for Cancer Research UK, Tom Morton’s pages at the Portsmouth News would tick every box. He shares each story uniquely, often working late into the night, to ensure they reach audiences across all platforms through print, online, video and social media. Tom’s support for Cancer Research UK and the celebration of our work in his paper, is why Race for Life Portsmouth is the biggest event in the South Central region. He consistently provides Cancer Research UK with the page space to raise funds, increase awareness of cancer and to promote our ongoing progress.

BBC Radio Merseyside reaches more than 250,000 listeners in Merseyside, north-west Cheshire, and West Lancashire each week. Their platform is extremely valuable for getting our health and fundraising messages into the homes of some of our hard to reach audiences . The whole team are extremely supportive, making time to feature our top campaign items, as well as coming to us with additional opportunities. Over the years the team has shown exceptional commitment to CRUK and they are a trusted media outlet that always delivers high-quality and engaging content to support our work.

The South Wales Cancer Crusaders are a group of 25 young men who are leading the way in modernising how fundraising groups work in the local community. The group formed in 2019 and have taken on 5 physical challenges including 85 miles of canoeing, 128 miles of cycling, tackling the 3 peaks challenge and a 100km walk in 24 hours. The group took on their most recent ‘Ten-Y-Fan challenge last summer, which took them to over £60,000 raised. The future is extremely bright for this enthusiastic, dedicated group of young people and they are a model example of how to run a modern fundraising group.

Amanda is a breath of fresh air; she has thrown herself into our events and her energy is unmatched - from leaping around a boiling event site, to sloshing cold water on participants, to jumping into a Volunteer Manager role at the last minute. Amanda can adapt, learn and jump in at the deep end, she is just brilliant! Amanda is a great advocate for the charity in the community, is a pleasure to work with and is always reliable. She always goes the extra mile supporting with promotions and helping to recruit other volunteers – bringing new friends, groups, and contacts along to any event she attends. Amanda is a shining light and is committed to her support for CRUK, aiming for big things and striving to do her bit for CRUK every year.

Andrew is a dedicated volunteer who goes above and beyond with everything he does and is a great team player. After a month with the Morpeth Shop, Andrew was given the role of volunteer key holder due to his incredible performance. Andrew is committed to learning new things and is very supportive of the Shop Manager. Reliable and punctual, he cares deeply about the other volunteers, customers, the shop and hitting all our targets.

The number of volunteers at the Callander shop has grown significantly in the last few years and they are now a fantastic team. They add value in lots of ways, from looking after different sections of the shop, to processing and steaming donated stock, to researching items in order to gain the maximum revenue for the charity. All the volunteers support one another, work as a team and are receptive to change, and as a result, the shop has seen a continuous increase in income – they are true rising stars!

When Dinny was diagnosed with tongue and thyroid cancer, she feared she would never speak or sing again following major surgery, which paralysed a vocal cord. However, Dinny, a retired nurse, turned her trauma into something positive by becoming a passionate voice in helping to raise awareness of CRUKs lifesaving work. Dinny has made a huge impact in the last few years, by sharing her story countless times and supporting major campaigns such as Race for Life and Shine. She is a brilliant advocate for the work of the charity and her joy and love of life are truly infectious.

In May 2022, a group of friends, who came together through their own cancer stories, formed a fundraising group, the Kingsclere Cancer Research Fundraisers, to put on a gala dinner in aid of Cancer Research UK. Through their shared passion and dedication to beating cancer, the night was a huge success and raised over £40K. They have committed to putting on a similar event every other year as well as numerous other fundraising activities, including pub quizzes and wine tasting. CRUK is truly lucky to have such ambitious and determined supporters and they deserve to be celebrated.

Nish has been an incredible media volunteer for CRUK since 2021. He is a singer/songwriter with a global following, who came forward to speak about his experience and raise awareness, soon after he was diagnosed with CML. It was immediately clear that he had a great understanding of research and spoke thoughtfully and powerfully about the importance of our work and the need to break taboos within his community to talk about cancer. Nish has appeared in a number of hugely successful and important adverts and campaigns, he is always willing to help and has already made a massive impact.

Since becoming a Campaigns Ambassador in 2021, Shannon has thrown herself wholeheartedly into campaigning. In a short time, she’s made a significant impact on our political influencing work to improve cancer outcomes. Shannon met MPs at the 2023 World Cancer Day event in Parliament, calling on them to support cancer research, care and a long-term cancer plan. The event was a huge success, but Shannon didn’t stop there, writing a blog about the day to inspire fellow Campaigns Ambassadors. Shannon has rapidly grown in confidence, taking ever more action, and becoming a go-to Ambassador for campaigning and media teams. 

Ann has been volunteering in East Port for 10 years after being personally affected by cancer. Ann has a particular knack for being chatty and friendly, a skill that fits her perfectly in her role serving on the shop floor. Anns forte, however, is hosting! Over the years, from her home, she has hosted a variety of events and to date, Ann has raised nearly £14,000. Having Ann on a Thursday afternoon brightens all our days her positive attitude to life makes the customers feel welcome in the shop and she is as dedicated today as when she first started.

Motivated by her own experience with cancer and wanting to give something back, Grace has been a volunteer at the West Wickham Shop for four years.  She has made a huge impact in that time and really stands out from the crowd!  A multi-skilled volunteer, Grace can turn her hand to anything; the bigger the task the harder she works to complete it. Described as a walking advertisement for Cancer Research UK, Grace provides outstanding support, both within the shop, and with fundraising activities, and unites everyone with her sense of humour. With her gregarious nature, she is well liked and is kind and considerate to customers, staff and fellow volunteers and a pleasure to work with!

Jane is a valued member of the Edinburgh Davidson Mains Shop. She contributes to stock management, research into stock quality and branding, as well as monetary contributions to increase income for the shop. For many years, Jane and her husband have tested and supplied batteries for any watches sold in the shop, allowing the shop to sell them at a higher price as customers can see them working. This has easily increased income by thousands of pounds throughout her time with us. She is an incredibly valuable volunteer and everything she does is greatly appreciated.

For 23 years, Jean has volunteered at the St Albans shop, and takes part in every fundraising event going, including collecting at the train station for Stand Up to Cancer for up to 12 hours, holding a charity Christmas market stall, and dressing up countless times in fancy dress. She helped every single day at the pop-up Charity Supermarket in Brent Cross, keeping things tidy and helping customers, sometimes not finishing until 8pm. Jean normally volunteers for 2 days a week, and often the rest of the team struggle to keep up with her. Nothing is too much where CRUK is concerned – she is an amazing volunteer.

Robert has been volunteering with Cancer Research UK for almost five years and is the ultimate volunteer! Robert is the first in the queue to dress up and shake a bucket, he is a great baker making lots of cakes, and knows his passion and experience is making a difference in achieving our ambitions. He is an integral part of the team and is a passionate ambassador for CRUK. We are incredibly lucky and proud to have Robert amongst us.

Sheena has been volunteering at the Elgin Shop for 15 years. She can usually be found on the till, laughing and interacting with her regular customers – she is always very willing to help everybody. Sheena loves sorting through and arranging the jewellery, and in the past she’s made her own, most of which she’s donated to, and sold within the shop. From her very first shift, Sheena has made a huge and lasting impression, and has not looked back since. Sheena is loved by staff, volunteers and customers alike. She’s an absolute asset to the shop.

Siobhan is amazing and her support for the Chester shop has been outstanding. She has been volunteering with us for 2 years and before that she volunteered in another CRUK shop. Siobhan loves training new volunteers and is eager to learn, she also enjoys fundraising and promoting CRUK. She always joins in with the street collections, and she promotes all the fundraising events we do in and out of work and gets behind every campaign we have on. We’re so proud of her and all that she has achieved.

Sue has been volunteering in the Cirencester shop for over 5 years and her dedication to the cause is truly outstanding. Sue volunteers a minimum of 2 full days a week and she will always go the extra mile to support the shop. She takes pride in all aspects of the work she completes – the children’s department and homeware being just 2 of the many areas which get the full attention of her expertise! Sue is a truly wonderful volunteer who does everything she can to encourage new and existing volunteers with training or general support.

The store has a 27 strong, diverse volunteering team, and their level of service is described as sublime. The team puts on fashion shows for our campaigns such as Stand Up to Cancer, which are fun, lucrative and popular with the customers. Their hard work, innovation and passion has turned the store into a magnificent commercial success and in the year 22/23 the total of £206,600 was achieved from donated sales, which was an amazing 50% increase on the previous year! Everyone has such a good time when volunteering with Aberdeen Union Street!

Through their enthusiasm and teamwork, the Didcot Shop Volunteer Team really go the extra mile to support CRUK. The team worked wonders last year, processing an impressive 20,000 bags of stock and getting 106,000 total items onto the shop floor. The team also go all out for every fundraising event, raising thousands by running cake stalls and plant sales and trying new initiatives such as encouraging customers to guess the amount of Lego in a jar and promoting their annual Strictly Come Dancing prize draw. A truly fabulous team of volunteers!

 The volunteers from the Hammersmith team are amazing people doing extraordinary work every day; without them we couldn’t run the shop and be part of the cause.  The volunteers have gone all out each week to raise maximum funds, supporting with all aspects of running this very busy shop including stock processing, till duties, visual merchandising, and research for the marketplace.  The volunteers love being part of the team! The shop was running without a manager and they all remained on board and dedicated their time, passion, and their abilities to make sure that everything is working smoothly. Their positivity and loyalty have been amazing!

This team are hardworking, passionate, driven and truly believe that we can beat cancer. Incredibly organised, everyone in the team has their own sections of the shop to look after, and they are so passionate about their department being a success. Last year, the team sadly experienced the loss of a great friend and fellow volunteer, Charles Green.  Charles was awarded a Special Commendation in the category of Shop Volunteer of the Year, as a true testament to how highly he was thought of by staff, volunteers and customers alike. The loss of Charles hit the close-knit team hard but they all rallied to support one another. They are a true credit to the charity.

With volunteers ranging in age from their late teens to those in their 80’s, the Sittingbourne shop team are fantastic fundraisers with an amazing can-do attitude.  Offering incredible customer service in the shop, the team also get behind fundraising initiatives in the community, from quizzes and bingo to tombola’s and cake stalls. They had incredible results last year, smashing all budgets, and it is humbling how committed and hardworking this amazing team are. No matter what’s needed or how big of an ask it is, they will be behind it 100%.

The Solihull shop has become known in their local area for having great customer service with a smile. They consistently go above and beyond what is expected of them with their ideas for the shop to compete with the ever-changing high street. The financial year of 2022-23 was the best year Solihull has achieved and this simply could not have been done without our team of volunteers!  Coming into this shop is always a joy as the volunteers make it such an enjoyable place to be, with their laughter and their stories keeping our spirits up throughout the week.

Richard has supported Cancer Research UK in many capacities over the years, by sharing his networks and by being the chairman of Jersey Cancer Research UK committee. He helps philanthropy in Jersey & Guernsey in many amazing ways using his extensive high-profile contacts and networks and he is such a high asset to Cancer Research UK with his One Cancer Research UK approach and is a delight to work with. Richard is really an outstanding champion of our cause and works tirelessly to get our message out there and raise awareness of the importance of our life saving research and why it's so important to the residents on the island. 

Connor is a brilliant young volunteer and deserves to be recognised for his superb contribution.  Connor was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma when he was just five, and he received the Children & Young People Star Award (run in partnership with TK Maxx). The family were happy to raise awareness and shared their story with regional and national media. Now 14, Connor has appeared in our shops as part of the summer fundraising appeal for the Cancer Research UK Children and Young people campaign and excelled as one of the hosts of our Star Awards in 2022! He is always happy to help and has made a huge impact raising awareness and funds for Cancer Research UK.

Georgia was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in 2010 at just 18 months old, and since 2019, when she cut the ribbon to start Bournemouth Relay for Life, she has been helping to raise awareness. She starred in our 2022 childhood cancer awareness campaign across all of our 600 shops.  She also appeared in a CRUK blog post during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which highlighted the link between Down Syndrome and childhood leukaemia, and the challenges faced during treatment. Georgia’s story has helped raise awareness in different ways and her family are always incredibly willing to support our work.

Heidi is 12 years old and has taken part in Race for Life York with her mum Sarah, since she was just 4 months old. With her caring nature and positive attitude, Heidi is a fantastic young volunteer and will continue to support the charity for years to come. She is always looking for ways to fundraise and promote the cause, from having a Stand Up to Cancer bake sale on her drive, to making bracelets to sell at Relay For Life York. Heidi has also volunteered to collect at Tescos Turn Pink days, World Cancer Day, Stand Up to Cancer and she has taken part as a team captain for Relay For Life York for 7 years.

Jen and Laura are sisters who have volunteered at the Stirling Shop for the past 5 years. When they started volunteering, they were lacking in confidence but fast forward 5 years and Jen now covers the till, greeting customers, whilst Laura is an incredibly fast stock processor, processing 180 items a shift – which equals around 140,000 items over her time in the role! Jen and Laura are always willing to do whatever is asked of them and love fundraising. They are a great part of the team and have made a real impact.

Kieran started volunteering at the Perth shop in February 2022, after being diagnosed with Germinaoma brain cancer in 2018 at the age of 15. Fortunately, his treatment was a success and he was given the all clear. Thanks to the support, encouragement and confidence he has gained from volunteering, Kieran started an admin apprenticeship at the Scottish Fire Service – but he still finds time to volunteer once a fortnight! He‘s great at spotting titles and toys that are popular among a younger age range, and keeping the shop up to date on current trends. Polite and approachable, Kieran is happy to help in any way he can.