Young Cancer Survivor Launches First Ever Boat Race Charity Partnership
Cancer Research UK is today announced as the first official charity partner of The BNY Mellon Boat Races.
The 2016 partnership aims to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all cancer types. Thanks to research, the survival rate has doubled over the last 40 years and millions of people have survived cancer, including six-year-old Jakob Heinenon.
Jakob, who recently finished over three years of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when he was just three years old, met some of the rowers at a recent training session.
The partnership will encourage people to be active, with numerous opportunities to fundraise in the run up to Race day itself on March 27th 2016.
Frances Milner, Executive Director of Philanthropic Partnerships and Development at Cancer Research UK, said: “Cancer Research UK is absolutely delighted to be partnering with the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races in 2016. Not only will the partnership raise significant funds for our research to help patients like Jakob, but it will also play an important role in helping us raise awareness of cancer, highlighting the steps that everyone can take to reduce their risk of getting this dreadful disease. By combining forces with The Boat Races, together, I believe we can achieve great things, and we are extremely excited to be part of this new partnership.”
Jakob’s mother, Thury Agustsdottir, said: “When Jakob was diagnosed, it was devastating. He had chemotherapy for so long that we had to find a way of making it a positive thing. He ended up loving going into hospital! He’s had chemotherapy for exactly half his life and now we’ve moved to monthly check-ups. He’s proud to call himself a survivor and I’m thrilled to support Cancer Research UK. Without research into new drugs and treatments I don’t know where we’d be.”
David Searle, Executive Director of The Boat Race Company Limited said: “We feel incredibly privileged to be working in partnership with Cancer Research UK on this exciting new initiative. The Boat Races and Cancer Research UK are fully devoted to encouraging people to lead a healthy lifestyle, which, alongside raising vital funds for Cancer Research UK’s pioneering research, will be the focus of this partnership.”
Teams are already in the thick of training for the iconic Boat Races, with the official launch later this week.
The BNY Mellon Boat Races will next take place on Sunday March 27th 2016. The Newton’s Women’s Boat Race will begin at 3.10pm, with The BNY Mellon Boat Race starting at 4.10pm.