By Rachel BartlettBundy
Hassocks will be going gold again for the whole month of September to raise awareness of childhood cancer and to raise funds for vital research for better treatments. Earlier this year, feeling tired and very sad about Pearl, I was considering that this year would be the last Hassocks Goes Gold, but then two things happened… First, I was contacted by Teddy’s mother who, even though she is going through the very worst of times coping with Teddy’s Neuroblastoma diagnosis and treatment, was so considerate to think to warn me in case I was triggered by their fundraising. I am indeed, just as she predicted. But I am also galvanised by the injustice of so many families like Teddy’s having to fundraise so much money for treatment abroad that should be offered and researched here.
All entries to the Gold Poster Competition will be displayed in the wonderful Parklands Road Street Exhibition and the proceeds have gone to Teddy’s campaign.
The second call was from the Children’s Cancer & Leukaemia Group, the charity supported by Hassocks Goes Gold. I am delighted that we have enabled not one but two new research projects to go ahead! As per our mission statement in Pearl’s name, both will fight aggressive types of childhood cancer with terribly poor outcomes.
The first project at the Institute of Child Health UCL, concentrates on Medulloblastoma - a common type of childhood brain tumour, attempting to create a new type of CAR-T immunotherapy treatment to improve survival rates currently as low as 5%. The second project will be at the University of Oxford, researching the use of stem cells to treat Juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), an extremely rare leukaemia that is very aggressive. Currently, only half of these children will survive for five years or more.
It is wonderful that the money raised by this wonderful local community is having a real and direct impact on raising the level of vital research into childhood Cancer. So, I am happy to announce that Hassocks Goes Gold continues. The current amount raised for Pearl’s fund has just passed the £87,000 mark, so I’m setting my sights on smashing £100,000 by the end of September! Raising funds for research and raising awareness will help so many children in the future, and we’ll have lots of fun along the way.
Sponsoring a Giant Gold Bow can be done on our JustGiving page for a minimum £20 donation – please book yours before Saturday 12th August – www.justgiving.com/page/HGG2023. Dedicate a bow to a friend, family member, club, or business and add a real sparkle to the village for the whole month.
Last year we had 119 bows in our Gold Trail round the village, it would be terrific to match or even beat that number for 2023. The ever-popular Gold Daily Auction will be back every day in September with prizes donated from local businesses and residents. We’re also planning another Gold day of Stalls on Sunday the 10th Sept, a big Gold Extravaganza Evening on Friday the 29th at the Hassocks Pub, a Gold Dodgeball Tournament, a Gold Tombola at the Hassocks Village Market, and there will be lots of other Gold events to fill the month too!
To book a Giant Bow, offer a prize for the Daily Auction, to hold a stall on the ‘Let’s STALL Childhood Cancer’ Trail or if you have a fundraising event you’d like included, please contact Rachel via HassocksGoesGold@ gmail.com. Details of all events will be on Facebook and www.justgiving.com/page/hgg2023