Saturday 19 November 2011

Breast Cancer Campaign Fundraising - A Personal Story

BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN - MY STORY
Over the years, I have often been asked why I am such an ardent supporter of the charity Breast Cancer Campaign. My story is far from being unique and will probably resonate with lots  of you out there, as like many others who support this charity, I have very personal reasons for doing so. 
My Mum
Back in 1959, my gorgeous and lovely mum, immediately after having just given birth to me, was found to have a very aggressive form of breast cancer (she was only 31 years old) and there was nothing that could be done.  Back in those days, treatment was limited, compared to nowadays I guess.  I was just 18 months old when she died so never got the chance to know her.  Shortly after my mum passed, my maternal grandmother developed breast cancer and eventually lost her battle to this disease too.
Then some while ago, I had a health scare myself. I felt my world had come to an end and convinced myself that the “breast cancer” curse had finally caught up with me. Luckily, my lump was benign and easily treated. But it was a very scary time as my daughter was still very young and felt that family history was repeating itself all over again. Whilst embarking on the road of genetic counselling, family research picked up other female members on my maternal side -my grandmother’s sisters and some of my mum’s cousins were discovered to have had breast cancer too, so there is a very probable genetic link. But I am not alone and there are many of us who have very similar personal stories to tell.   

However I felt that I had to direct my energies into doing something very positive.


WHY SUPPORT BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN?

Breast Cancer Campaign's mission is to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure

Breast Cancer Campaign funds research into finding a cure for breast cancer, so by supporting the charity I feel I am doing “my bit” and something positive towards helping scientists find a cure. It maybe that an absolute cure may not be found during my generation but I am full of optimism that it can be found during my childrens' generation.

I am sure that many of you reading this have been touched by breast cancer in some way too, either directly or indirectly. So please.... help support the charity...... maybe bid in our Sealed Bid Auction or come along to Thame Dolls House & Miniatures Fair on Saturday 18th February 2012 and help us all raise as much money as possible for Breast Cancer Campaign.


BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING - RAFFLE


I am pleased to say that the official  Breast Cancer Campaign Raffle page is now live on KT Miniatures website .
http://www.ktminiatures.com/Raffle.html
Donations are beginning to come in and you can view details of them on there. In the above photos, you can see a hand-painted set of plates from Victoria Fasken, a bronze pair of greyhounds by Tony Knott, an embroidered cushion by Nicola Mascall and a pair of prawn cocktails in real glass dishes by Mags Cassidy of Mags-Nificent Miniatures. A huge thank you to the artisans who have already donated.

 This raffle will be taking place at Thame Dolls House & Miniatures Fair in February. Tickets will be £1.00 each and can only be purchased on the day at Thame Fair.
I have great pleasure in co-ordinating this raffle again and if you are a professional miniaturist artisan - UK or overseas, and would like to make a donation of your work - then PLEASE do get in touch with me - Celia Thomas - at KT Miniatures. A photo of any donation or pledge that comes in before the Thame Fair, will be placed on the raffle page along with a link to each artisan's website (or contact details if no website is available).


BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING - SEALED BID AUCTION
"A Cold & Frosty Morning...After The Night Before"
 As you will have already seen on here (there is a video set to music to the right of this blog), our Sealed Bid Auction is now open. You can either bid online right now (will take just  2 minutes of your time - it is that easy), post a bid to me here at KT Miniatures or bid in person at Thame Fair. The closing date for the auction will be 3.00pm February 18th at Thame Fair. The winner will be announced by the Thame Town Crier shortly after 3.00pm that day....so plenty of time to think about it....but why not get your bid in early?

To find out more information about the auction plus full details about the little scene, please click on the following link:

www.miniatureworkshops.com/Sealed_Bid_Auction

BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING - SALES TABLE

On the day of Thame Fair, as always, there will be the fabulous Sales Table with miniature donations for you to purchase at bargain prices. This is an extremely popular attraction and always raises hundreds of pounds for the charity every year. It will be in the very capable hands as always of Jill and Melody.

We are in need of any good quality miniatures or unwanted miniature items or even childrens dolls house furniture (eg. Sylvanian, Early Learning Centre, Fisher Price etc.) for the Sales Table.  Any contribution would be gratefully received although please note that sadly we are not able to take on dolls houses due to lack of space.

You can send your miniature items to me Celia,  here at KT Miniatures (my email and phone number can be found on www.ktminiatures.com ) or bring them on the day of the event and simply hand them to the volunteers manning the Sales Table. Alternatively you can email or ring Ron & Felicity Holland the fair organisers (their details can be found on http://www.thamedollshousefair.co.uk/).


PLEASE HELP US SUPPORT BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN


6 comments:

Christine said...

Your story brought tears to my eyes.

I hope you have a successful fundraiser.

Mags Cassidy said...

You know that many of us support this cause and you.
I shall also bring a bag of bits and bobs for the sales table.
Mags

Robin said...

An inspirational blog....it's a privilege to fund-raise for such an important cause that touches so many.
Rx

KT Miniatures said...

Thank you ladies for such kind comments. People are already donating which is fabulous...particularly as there is still about 3months to go before the Thame event. Celia

Sandra Morris said...

Thanks for sharing your story Celia.
I found it very moving.
Well done too for doing so much to raise money for such a worthy charity.
Sx

KT Miniatures said...

Aaaah...thanks Sandra. Look forward to seeing you again at Thame Fair in February. Celia