Fundraising and Big Buckets

So Christmas is on it's way and I want to take advantage (in a good way!) of the season of goodwill by raising money for charities close to my heart.


Firstly we have CLIC Sargent who do wonderful things for children with cancer. They helped Georgie when he was ill and I am trying to replay them by taking part in their annual Big Bucket Collection.


December is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and CLIC Sargent is the country's leading charity for children and young people with cancer as well as their families. They proves clinical, practical and emotional help to young sufferers and their families by providing access to specialist nurses, social works and play specalists. They also provide financial help to families, helping them meet extra costs. As well as all that they provide free accommodation close to specialist cancer centres and holidays in the UK. CLIC Sargent are there for the whole journey: from the point of diagnosis, helping families cope with the impact the disease has on everyones lives as well as helping people deal with gruelling treatments as well as life after treatment and in some horrible cases bereavement.


I am organising the Big Bucket Collection at Tesco's in Woodford Green, Essex. I'm hoping to sell Christmas themed cupcakes, mince pies and mulled wine for a small donation as well have having people with big buckets ready to collect any spare change from the Christmas shoppers.


My collection will be taking place on Friday 16th December 2011 and although I already have a few willing volunteers, I will welcome more! If you can spare an hour or two on the day to help me then I would really appreciate it! Some families, like mine, will be spending Christmas without a young loved one this year and I would like to prevent that happening to many more families next year. Every penny will count and I hope to make this a very successful collection!

A Poem For Georgie

My amazing cousin Georgie died in April 2011. I will go into detail about his story very soon but I wanted to share the poem I read out at his funeral as it really helped me cope at the time. I hope it can do the same for others.

He is Gone

You can shed tears that he is gone
Or you can smile because he has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left

Your heart can be empty because you can't see him
Or you can be full of the love that you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on

Alexandra and Peter Christophe

As I have previously said, I have unfortunately had to say goodbye to six of my close relatives during my life so far. I would like to pay tribute to them all in this blog at some point and I thought I would start with my beloved paternal grandparents Alexandra and Peter Christophe. Before I begin I should point out that we are Greek and have different words for Nan and Granddad! Nan = Yiayia, Granddad = Buppou.


My Yiayia and Buppou were amazingly brave people. Originally from Cyprus, they came to England with their four children, Chris, Sotiris, George (my dad) and Eleni, many years ago. They lost their home, land and pretty much everything during the 1974 Cyprus Invasion and the whole family were forced to set up new homes in the south of the Island. They also had to face losing two of their children to cancer: my Uncle Sotiris and my Auntie Eleni. How they managed to survive all of that I will never know.


I was the first grandchild on my dad's side of the family and without sounding vain, I was a much loved baby. As my parents are divorced and my grandparents no longer with us, I am the very proud owner of about a million photos and videos detailing the first few years of my life. In fact my Uncle Chris likes to point out that my dad liked to video everything, including several hours of me just sitting in a baby bouncer! These photos and videos are my most cherished possessions as they are my only reminders of the family I have lost.


My Yiayia was one of the nicest and kindest ladies I have ever known; to this day I have never heard a negative story about her. She was amazing. I remember going to visit her after my aunt died and somehow she had found the strength to get up and make us food because she couldn't bear the idea of her grandchildren not having lunch. That was my Yiayia all over: her family was her everything. Weirdly enough I always think of my Yiayia when I'm eating Pomegranate. She always used to peel mine for me so I could eat the seeds with a spoon, without her I have to peel it myself!


My Buppou was a very caring but very cantankerous man. Watching videos of my Buppou from back before my aunt and uncle died, he was always singing and dancing and he really loved his children and grandchildren. He did like to complain a lot, my most favourite moment being when he told my stepmum Shan she didn’t make toast brown enough (I can verify that she does make very nice toast).


My Yiayia had suffered from Cancer before but a few years ago she was diagnosed with Throat Cancer and spent lots of time in hospital. My sister Nikki and I were old enough to go to hospital to visit her and tried to most days. She couldn’t talk very much and had a rather large growth on her neck but she was still our Yiayia, giving us money and chocolate and ALWAYS delighted to see us. A few days after my 18^th birthday in 2006, she suffered a massive heart attack and we were woken up in the middle of the night to be told we would probably have to say goodbye. Somehow she managed to wake up and survive for another five months before passing away on September 6^th 2006.


My Buppou had seldom been ill before my Yiayia died. In fact I can’t recall ever hearing of him being ill. But once she died he slowly fell to pieces. We moved him out of the Brixton flat that had been their home for many years and took him to Cyprus so my dad and step mum could look after him. In July 2009 he became very ill and a shadow of his former self. It was Cancer. Unfortunately my trip to Cyprus in August 2009 was the last time I got to see my Buppou alive. He died on January 17^th 2010. My Uncle Chris and I flew straight to Cyprus for his funeral and he was buried with my Yiayia: the love of his life.


My Yiayia and Buppou suffered through many tragedies during their lives but the memories I have of them are amazing. I always remember the chocolate cakes and amazing Sunday roasts at their house. I remember the funny rants my Buppou would have and the caring nature of my Yiayia. We all miss them very much and not a day goes by without me thinking of them. I hope they are somewhere now, happily reunited with my aunt and uncle watching over my dad and all of us with smiles on their faces.

Get Pampered for a Good Cause!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and two sisters will opening their salon doors to raise money for the hospital that helped their mum fight the disease.

Helen Dennis was diagnosed in December 2010 and after several gruelling rounds of Chemotherapy, she is thankfully on the road to recovery and is currently receiving Herceptin Treatment.

Mrs Dennis was looked after by the Chartwell Unit at Farnborough Hospital and her daughters Kirsty and Kate are keen to make a donation to the unit as a way of thanking them for the help and support their mother received during her battle.

Kirsty owns a hair and beauty salon, Ooh La Laa, situated near Penge East Station in Sydenham. Throughout October the girls will be offering special treatments at special prices as well as a raffle with prizes including free treatments and a football coaching session with Kate's boyfriend Robert Wells.

To end the month with a bang, on Sunday 30th October, the girls will be putting on a special day of treatments. "Pinkin' of you" will see all employees donate their wages and tips to the charity and will spend the whole day doing hair and beauty treatments. The day will end with the ten raffle winners will be announced.

Kate says: " cancer affects so many people and it's nice to be able to try and help the unit that looked after our mum so well"

To have a chat with the girls, find out more information or book your treatments please call the salon and speak to Kirsty or Kate. Let's use this month to raise awareness of Breast Cancer and help these lovely girls help others have a chance of beating this horrific disease

Ooh La La is situated at 7 Newlands Park, Sydenham, SE26 5PE. Telephone Number 020 8778 9480

Being a CRUK Ambassador

I'm 22 years old and I've already had to say goodbye to six of my close relatives: On my fathers side I have lost both grandparents (Alexandra and Peter), my uncle/godfather Sotiris and my aunt Eleni. On my mothers side I lost my aunt/godmother Gina and my beloved cousin Georgie.

I applied to become an ambassador for Cancer Research UK (CRUK). CRUK’s ambassadors are a brilliant group of passionate supporters working hard to help CRUK effectively influence politicians, engage the local media in their campaigns and try to help them save lives. Our stories, experiences and passion have become one of CRUK’s most powerful campaigning tools and are vital part of their work.

As an ambassador my activities are varied and interesting:

* Communication with local politicians and parliamentary representatives; flagging up our campaign issues and persuading them to back us and take positive action on our behalf.

* Engaging with our local and regional press; securing coverage for our campaigns and raising awareness in our local area.

* Lobbying for specific cancer related campaigns.

I have met some amazing and inspiring people as an ambassador and it's a role I really enjoy. I did think talking about cancer a lot would be really depressing but in a strange way it is actually conforting to know there are people out there who have been through the same kind of experiences as me. It makes my day when someone messages me to let me know I've helped them in some way.

Our current campaign is “A Voice for Radiotherapy”. CRUK believe everybody deserves the best chance at fighting cancer and beating it. This means giving them access to the best possible treatments. Up to half of all cancer patients could benefit from access to world class radiotherapy treatments but only 4/10 people with cancer currently do. We are campaigning to make sure it is available to everybody who could benefit from it.

Awareness of radiotherapy is low; a recent CRUK survey reveals that 14% of people are aware of it. We are concerned that a lack of public awareness means that radiotherapy does not receive the attention is needs to develop into a world class service in the UK.

We are calling on the government in England to introduce an action plan, to tackle unequal access to radiotherapy and make sure that all services have the appropriate workforce, the best treatments and the capacity to plan for the future. We want to make sure that everyone who needs it has access to world class radiotherapy treatments.

Please take a moment to sign our petition and get as many of your loved ones to do the same:  http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=149&ea.campaign.id=9329&ea.tracking.id=PennySC

We will be handing this petition in at Downing Street in November. We are aiming for 36,000 signatures, one for every person who misses out every year.

Introduction

My name is Penny-Sophia Christofi and I'm 22 years old. My Uncle suggested I start up my own blog after writing a few pieces for his own (anticancer.org.uk). I've lost six relatives to Cancer and I am a proud Ambassador for Cancer Research UK. The main aim of this blog will be to raise awareness of our many campaigns and fundraising events, whilst also sharing the stories of my fallen relatives. I will also share stories about other parts of my life, such my quest to learn how to cook.

I hope you enjoy reading my pieces :)

Penny