Who donates

Without the kind donations and fantastic fundraising activities undertaken by our supporters the Fund would not be able to exist. Here are some recent donations:

  • Mesothelioma sufferer Steve Lee’s sports club, Reading Roadrunners, have so far raised over £43,000 for the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund. See more about the Reading Roadrunners in our news section.
  • Philip Hardy raised over £600 for the Fund running the Bath half marathon in March 2010.
  • The Bradwell Cycling Club raised £2,200 for the Fund on their annual cycle ride from Bradwell to Skegness in July 2009.
  • Catherine Brown of Fife lost her husband Jim to mesothelioma on 18 February 2009, aged 68. A collection took place at Jim’s funeral, raising a total of £675 for the fund.
  • The ‘Walk for Len’ took place one August 26 – 31st August 2009 and has so far raised over £3,000. Len Hutton, a retired Police Officer, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in June 2008 after retiring six months earlier. After battling bravely against the illness, Len passed away on 6th December 2008.
  • The family and friends of Brian A Walker donated £775 in his memory after he lost his fight against mesothelioma in August 2006.
  • Mark Knight and Alan Dolley, both from Huddersfield, successfully completed the London Marathon in 2002, and between them, they donated £4,962.50 – an amazing achievement. The day was tinged with sadness, as Mark lost his father to mesothelioma only a few days before the Marathon. Mark told the the Fund trustees that he simply had to do it for his Dad, who was so looking forward to seeing Mark cross the finishing line. A further donation of £1,500 was made in lieu of flowers at his father’s funeral.
  • Margaret Boden, from Derby, and her family have given over £7,000 in memory of Brian Boden, Margaret’s husband, who died of mesothelioma. This money was used to finance the publication and distribution of Mavis Robinson’s booklet.
  • Ann Barnard from Little Bookham in Surrey, lost her husband Brian to mesothelioma on the 10th March 2002. He had been diagnosed with the disease only seven months previously. She wanted to do something positive, and so organised a a fund-raising bridge supper in Brian’s memory. Her friends and family were immensely supportive, and the evening was a huge success. The monies raised were extraordinary… half of which were kindly donated to the Fund. This amounted to £1,390.
  • Karen Wright, from Great Barr in Birmingham, organised a fund-raising disco and auction with help from her mother, in memory of her late father, who she lost to mesothelioma.The evening was very successful, and cheques totalling a staggering £2,500 were donated to the Fund.
  • Alida Coates of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors in Birmingham went along to accept the cheque presentation, on behalf of the Fund, in November 2002.
  • Mrs Barratt from East Sheen in London made an extremely generous donation of £7,800, and under the ‘gift aid’ scheme this increases to almost £10,000.
  • Keith Hartley from Halifax, West Yorkshire, came into contact with asbestos whilst working as an apprentice in his teenage years. He was just 53 when he died in December 2000. His family are determined to help others who are suffering from mesothelioma, and want to do something positive to improve the awareness of the disease. Like many others, they felt that not enough is known about the illness in the healthcare profession, and have donated over £1,300 to the Fund. Mavis, Keith’s wife, arranged a coffee morning in support of the Fund. Mrs Hartley’s niece works for the Abbey National, and they very kindly agreed to match the monies raised. The local newspaper took an interest, and all in all a total of £400 was raised… a real team effort! Since then she has organised a make up party and raffle for family and friends, and her sister Ruth held a barn dance, which raised £800.
  • Colin Dyal, a mesothelioma sufferer himself, has raised £500 so far for the Fund. Colin said that he felt a ‘special affinity with the project’, and would continue to support the Fund in the future. Colin is taking part in trials at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, and we wish him well.
  • Christine Knighton, who has generously supported the Fund, has set up a support and awareness group in Newcastle and raised money for mesothelioma research specifically in the North East, in conjunction with the British Lung Foundation, in memory of her late husband Mick.
  • Long term fund supporters the Rusty Sprocket MCC (bikers’ club) in Cardiff have raised in excess of £600, following another musical event in September 2004.
  • Derek’s daughter does him proud
    Karen Wright has worked tirelessly to raise funds for the JHMRF and the BLF since losing her father Derek Hoult to mesothelioma four years ago, and has raised more than £10,000 so far. For her 40th birthday celebrations, Karen, of Great Barr in Birmingham, asked family and friends to donate money to the charities instead of presents, raising £700.
    Her father died aged 64 as a result of exposure to asbestos at work. Three generations of Karen’s family ran the 5km Lung Run through Sutton Park in April. Joining them was Alida Coates, solicitor from Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office, who worked on Mr Hoult’s case. To mark the first Action Mesothelioma Day in February, a memorial service for victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases was held at St Phillips Cathedral. Karen lit a candle in her father’s memory and said on the day that she felt very angry at the lack of any cure or treatment for mesothelioma. Karen said “Because so few people have heard of mesothelioma you feel very isolated and after speaking to people on the day I found many others felt the same.”
  • Alan Foster – a dying wish to help others (Nick Foster’s father)
    Alan, died from mesothelioma on 29 November last year, having been exposed to asbestos whilst working for British Rail building steam locomotives. In lieu of flowers at his funeral, friends and family donated over £1,000 to the JHMRF. When he died, Alan’s wish was to improve research into the disease. Nick says this was typical of a man who always wanted to help others. Every penny of the donations in his memory is doing exactly that.
  • Doug runs Sheffield half for Jeff
    Doug Manning lost a good friend and neighbour – Jeff Dyson – to mesothelioma in the autumn of 2006, and he decided to run the Sheffield half marathon to raise funds for mesothelioma research. He raised £1,000 in sponsorship, and kindly donated it to the June Hancock Fund. Denis O’Gorman of Irwin Mitchell also successfully completed the Sheffield half, raising £250, and coming top of the over 55’s.
  • Slimming for the peaks
    When Greg Steel discovered that his father was suffering from mesothelioma, he embarked upon a determined fundraising campaign, which has taken him from a sponsored slim to the mighty Three Peaks challenge. Greg’s father died in June 2006, but Greg feels very proud to have raised more than £650 – with another £1,200 expected. Family and friends also donated £440 in lieu of flowers at Michael’s funeral.
  • Pam Clarke – fundraiser extraordinaire!
    Pam Clarke was a prolific supporter of the JHMRF a long time before her husband Geoffrey Michael lost his life to mesothelioma in February (2005). Geoffrey had been a plumber, and was described by Pam as a wonderful family man. Pam and her family are spending more and more time finding ways of raising money for mesothelioma victim support and research in his memory. Cheques totalling £1,000 were sent to the fund following a fundraiser at the Dorset Show, and Pam has since set a target to raise £10,000 every year. So far she has arranged dance nights, sold cards and hampers, organised raffles with donated gifts, held a tombola, made cushions and even had a chocolate sampling evening!
    Her most recent effort involved a charity football match between doctors and porters from Dorset County Hospital at Dorchester county football club in May. Attendance was high, and an amazing £2,000 was raised on the night
  • Binfield Singers play on in memory of Dennis Vigar
    Dennis Vigar died of mesothelioma in October 2004, and since then his wife Jan has spent much of her time raising funds for mesothelioma research. Donations to our Fund had already exceeded £2,000 when she decided to arrange a concert in Dennis’ memory. On the 13 May this year, in Binfield, Berkshire, a 25-strong choir sang their hearts out to raise money, with all donations going to June’s Fund. Despite poor weather on the night the concert was a success and enjoyed by all who attended. A total of £178 was raised.
  • Alison raises money in memory of step father Alan
    Alison Bell of Colchester raised over £2,000 after successfully completing a 12 mile sponsored walk in Suffolk in September 2005. Her stepfather, Alan Philpot, died from mesothelioma in 2004, and she was determined to help raise awareness of the disease. Alison’s employers, HSBC, generously donated £500 in a ‘pound for pound’ scheme.
    Alison received lots of local publicity both for the plight of mesothelioma sufferers, and for the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund. At the time Alison said, “I hope it helps the Fund, and maybe one day we can find a cure.”
    Alison’s colleague also did some fundraising by arranging a dress down day at work, which raised a further £200… a great team effort all round!
  • In loving memory of Roger Lowe
    Roger Lowe was a very fit and active man, who loved the outdoor life, and adored spending time with his family, be it out to sea fishing, or growing fruit and vegetables… even bee keeping! He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2005, aged 68.
  • In loving memory of Roger Lowe
    Known simply as ‘R’ to many, he knew he had been exposed to asbestos whilst working as an electrical fitter at Plymouth’s Devonport dockyard. He died on December 12, last year, and naturally his family were devastated. Plymouth is a ‘hotspot’ for asbestos related deaths, with over 250 people dying from mesothelioma in the past 15 years. The Lowe family continue to raise funds for the JHMRF and to raise awareness locally of both the disease itself, and the dangers of exposure to asbestos generally. Alison also worked hard to get as many people as possible to sign the British Lung Foundations online ‘Mesothelioma Charter’ for the Action Mesothelioma Day in February. Roger’s family have very kindly decided to make annual donations to the June Hancock Fund on his birthday, December 5, and Fathers Day every year.
  • Reverend Canon Don Irving
    Mark Irving’s father, Don, died from mesothelioma in January 2006. His family do not know how, where, or when he was exposed to asbestos. Don’s wish was for any donations made at his memorial service to be donated to a suitable charity, and so Mark chose the June Hancock Fund.
  • Ann’s four-year fundraiser
    Ann is one of our regular fundraisers, and we simply cannot thank her enough. Her husband, Brian, sadly died from mesothelioma in March 2002, and since then she has organised many fundraising events. In March this year she hosted a lunch and raffle at home, which raised an amazing £726. She also obtained 150 signatures for the Mesothelioma Charter petition presented to Downing Street on Action Mesothelioma Day. Thank you, as always, for your wonderful support.
  • Christmas
    We would like to make a special mention of Margaret Boden and Rita Ogley. They are both loyal supporters of June’s Fund, and continue to send us their annual donations in lieu of Christmas presents… thank you both very much.
  • Clive Bryan
    In the summer of 2005 Angela Nicholson’s uncle, Clive Bryan, was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He died soon afterwards, still only in his early fifties. Clive’s nephews and nieces wished to donate money to The Fund in lieu of flowers at their Uncle’s funeral, and many of Clive’s family and friends also made donations. In total over £400 was raised.
  • Having green fingers really does help!
    Pat King of Norfolk deserves a mention for her continued support of the Fund. Since her husband, Edward, died of the disease she has arranged a number of plant sales, and has raised over £600.
  • Sheena Harland
    One of the Fund’s greatest supporters, Sheena Harland, sadly died in 2006. The Fund has since received donations totalling £2,920, in her memory. Keen to raise funds for mesothelioma research, Sheena worked tirelessly on various fundraising projects. A friend of hers, Rob Fletcher, raised £1,123 by running the London Marathon in 2005. She was an avid supporter of the work of the June Hancock Fund and her letters were always inspirational, despite being very ill with mesothelioma. She will be sadly missed.
  • Braving the cold
    In February 2006, the Sheffield and Rotherham Asbestos Group (SARAG) invited people throughout South Yorkshire to sponsor a balloon to mark Action Mesothelioma Day. Adrian Budgen of Irwin Mitchell solicitors and member of the industrial diseases sub-committee of the British Lung Foundation, addressed the gathering outside the town hall and the event was very well supported despite the cold. More than £1,600 was raised, £810 of which was donated to June’s Fund. Many thanks to the members of SARAG, and the friends and relatives of people affected by mesothelioma that contributed to this donation. SARAG is a member of the Asbestos Support Groups Forum, and can be contacted on 0114 282 3212. Alternatively, you can e-mail Paula Walker at sarag@aizlewoodsmill.co.uk.