2023 Fundraising round up

Make 2nds Count have had an incredible year of fundraising in 2023. As we look back at some of the amazing fundraising events we would like to thank all our supporters for all events big and small and for making it the year that it was. Without you we would not have been able to continue to give hope to everyone who is affected by secondary breast cancer.

We kick started 2023 with fitness in Perth as Gillian from Perth Physio and Pilates donated all proceeds from her Pilates classes to Make 2nds Count.  What better way to start the year than getting fit and donating to a good cause, this was definitely a good start to the year.

An Art Exhibition was held in February in Manchester from one of our extremely talented supporters. Virginia's art exhibition of copper sulphate etchings, collographs and lino prints helped raise vital funds for Make 2nds Count but also helped to raise awareness to all who visited.

In March we had the return of our very own  2K a day. This event was a great way to get fit and challenge yourself to go further. This year we had some corporate groups taking part as well as individuals from our community from around the UK. The total distance walked this year was 1858.9km which is more than the distance from London to The Rock of Gibraltar, how amazing was that!

April was a great kick start to the running season with people taking part in the London Marathon, Manchester Marathon and Belfast Marathon. We also saw the return of Scotland's Kiltwalk series. These are fantastic events to be involved with and such a great way to challenge yourself.

Roy who ran the London Marathon for us said ‘What an amazing experience! The supporters, volunteers and the runners, wow! 

These events take place all over the UK so why not challenge yourself in 2024 and sign up to one of these amazing events.

In May we saw squash champions return to Edinburgh for a match. Three times world champion Nick Matthew OBE and James Willstrop, a former world No 1 and a world doubles champion were there in support of a squash fundraising event organised by Lisa for Make 2nds Count. We would like to thank everyone who attended and supported this event.

For the first time in June, we had our very own 3 Peaks in 24 hours challenge. This saw some incredibly brave supporters from all over the UK, come together to take on the challenge of climbing Ben Nevis, Snowden and Scafell Pike in just 24 hours, and guess what, they did it. Such an amazing achievement for them all to walk away with.

July saw one of our incredibly brave supporters Evan take a fearless leap from the sky and do a 10,000ft tandem Skydive in support of our mission to improve the lives of those living with secondary breast cancer.

Evan, whose mum Heather is an SBC patient, said;

“Thank you so much to everyone who donated and showed your support for this skydive! We smashed our goal, and this meant so much to me and my mom. It was great to finally have a chance to skydive and have my mom there watching from the ground. I loved that I could do this for her and for Make 2nds Count. Skydiving in Fife is gorgeous — and supporting M2C is brilliant — so I would highly recommend it to anyone!”

 

In August, Tash from Lancashire, reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro - the tallest free standing mountain in the world & the highest mountain in Africa! She was taking on this monumental challenge to raise funds for Make 2nds Count and we are so proud of her and this amazing achievement.

Tash said of the challenge:

"8 days of hiking and camping in Tanzania with the most amazing scenery and company! On Day 6 we set off at around midnight and summited at 7:30am. Hiking at altitude is no joke & many don’t make it to the summit, so I feel so proud! It was honestly the most mentally, physically and emotionally challenging thing I’ve ever done but so so worth it! I coped really well with the altitude until we reached around 5000m, at which point the altitude sickness kicked in. I had to really push to get to the summit and the emotions were high when we finally got there! "

In September, we launched our first ever ‘Love your Tribe’ Ladies Lunch event. This fabulous event took place on Saturday 2nd September 2023, at Crumlin Road Gaol, one of Belfast’s most beautiful and historical buildings. The afternoon saw guests enjoy a delicious afternoon tea, entertainment and dancing from Motown Sensations with the event being hosted by our compere Gary Wilson. Supporters at this event have helped to raise funds to support the secondary breast cancer community in Northern Ireland.

Our second instalment of ‘Love your Tribe’ Ladies Lunch took place in October at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow. These guests were treated to a delicious 2 course lunch, an afternoon of fun from the amazing Edward Reid and they danced the afternoon away with The Hustle. This was another fun packed event enjoyed by all who attended.

November saw the launch of our 2023 Make Christmas Count Campaign. For the fourth year you can support us by purchasing one of our Baubles of Hope or make an online donation for our Christmas animation.

All Christmas bauble and animation donations will help towards funding our 2024 retreats. Our retreats are there to help members of our community de-stress, relax and build friendships with others living with secondary breast cancer. This year we were able to provide retreats for 106 guests in various locations around the UK. The goal for 2024 is to increase this offering allowing more individuals to benefit from this transformative experience.

In addition to all the events above we have had walks, marathons, head shaves, bake sales, corporate team fundraisers and everything in between all organised by our amazing supporters. Make 2nds Count are incredibly proud of all of our community fundraisers and we would like to thank our supporters, fundraisers, regular givers, volunteers and corporate partners for making our fundraising what it is today. This amazing team has allowed us to continue to give hope to all those affected by secondary breast cancer and we hope that in 2024 you will join us to continue our mission.

We have so many amazing events planned for 2024, if you like to get involved please go to our events calendar or if you simply have a question about fundraising or have something of your own in mind please get in touch via fundraising@make2ndscount.co.uk and we will be here to answer any questions and support you throughout your fundraising journey.