Team takes on trail walk to help blood cancer charity
A TEAM from Jacs Music Venue in Aberdare took on a 25km sponsored walk along the Cynon Trail from Penderyn to Abercynon to raise money for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan.
September was Blood Cancer Awareness Month, so Steve O’Gorman and his team joined forces with people across the country to take on Anthony Nolan’s Walking Together challenge to raise funds to save the lives of people with blood cancer.
Steve has chosen to support Anthony Nolan because he was inspired to get involved with its Shake4Mike campaign four years ago, when a nationwide appeal to find a stem cell donor for Mike Brandon from Bristol led him to start fundraising more widely.
Steve, 52, said: “Mike’s wife is related to my mother’s neighbour, so I got involved with their campaign to find a match for Mike.
“Then I decided to put collection boxes around Aberdare and a bit further afield.
“Paul Taylor, the owner, Gavin Wagstaff, the manager, and all the regulars at Jacs are generous supporters of the charity already.
“When the Walking Together idea came my way, I just knew we had to get involved with it.
“I drew up a route and roped in some of the gang to join me.
“A few people couldn’t make it on the day, but Paul himself, Rhian Elias, Liam Jones and Kate Blacker stepped up and stepped out in grand fashion.”
The Jacs team were forced to postpone their original plans because of the weather, but on September 29 they were walking under sunshine and blue skies.
The five friends set off from Penderyn at 9am and arrived in Abercynon just after 5pm. Between them, they’re on course to raise more than £500.
Steve is already planning next September’s walk and hopes that it will grow into a regular event with more people joining in every year.
Anthony Nolan finds and matches donors, of the correct tissue types, with patients with blood cancers and disorders who need lifesaving stem cell transplants, giving them hope of a cure. It costs £40 to add each new donor to the register, so by raising money the Jacs team’s walk will give someone a second chance of life.
Anthony Nolan also carries out pioneering research to increase the success of stem cell transplants, and supports patients through their transplant journeys.
Before the event, Kirsty Mooney, head of community and events at Anthony Nolan, said: “We are delighted that Steve O’Gorman and Jacs Music Venue are taking part in Walking Together this month, saving lives with every step they take.
“For anyone wanting to get involved, organising your own walk couldn’t be easier and the funds raised will enable us to recruit potential stem cell donors to the Anthony Nolan register – any one of whom could give a second chance of life for someone with blood cancer.”
You can sponsor Jacs Music Venue at www. justgiving.com/teams/ jacsmusicvenue