Wokingham Lions
ALMOST 200 people helped raise £8,000 at the very successful Liz Berry Glitter Ball to support Bowel Cancer UK, held last month at the Hilton hotel in Reading.
The event was in honour of Liz Berry, who died of bowel cancer in 2015. She was the best friend of Clare Dando, who organised the ball, with support from Lyn Baily of the Wokingham Lions Club.
“We had 189 people in attendance, and it was a fun evening with a live band, threecourse dinner, pay to play casino and raffle prizes. I am thrilled that we were able to raise £8,000 for Bowel Cancer UK, to help raise awareness of bowel cancer and fund research projects,” Clare Dando said.
“Liz Berry had been my best friend since we met at university in 1990. We had been friends for 25 years when she died on 5th May 2015, at the age of 45.
“I wanted to do something significant to honour Liz and mark our friendship in a way that would hopefully help others too.
“When I turned 45 on 1st June 2017, I decided to start a healthy lifestyle by exercising every day for 45 minutes, and eliminating alcohol and sugary snacks from my diet.
“To date, I have lost four-and- a-half stone, and taken up new hobbies and sports.
“In addition, I started a Challenge 45 fundraising page for bowel cancer: https://give. everydayhero.com/uk/challenge45-for-liz
“So far, we’ve raised £5,000. Clare added: “For the last year, we have been working with the Wokingham Lions Club to organise the Glitter BaIl. I am so incredibly grateful to the Lions for all their help and support with the Ball. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to work with their members.”
Lyn Baily, a member of the Wokingham Lions Club, who helped organise the Ball, said: “Wokingham Lions Club have great pleasure in supporting this event, and in helping to fundraise for such a worthy cause.”
Bowel cancer (also called colorectal cancer) is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, after breast, prostate and lung cancers. More than 40,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK. Bowel cancer can affect any age. If diagnosed early, bowel cancer is curable.
Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK, behind lung cancer. However, since the 1970s, fewer people have died from bowel cancer, due to earlier diagnosis and better treatment.
For more information on bowel cancer, visit the website www. bowelcanceruk.org.uk. For information on the Wokingham Lions Club, visit the website, www. wokinghamlions.org.uk