Bryan's Blog Archive

Fundraising Update

Hi there

I am sorry the Christmas tree took so long to take down but now that we are into the 6th month of the year I think it is a good time for another Appeal update.

Thanks to the publicity in the Evening News in the build up to Christmas and some more charity events in the first half of the year we are edging closer to the £1,000,000 mark.

A couple of events took recently took place at my old stomping ground at Carrow Road - ironically football matches!!

My first thanks go to Brindley Spings of the Rivergarden Public House who organised a match against the Norfolk Police, following the match which was watched by a decent crowd they went back to the Rivergarden for drinks, a BBQ and raffle.

The second match took place directly after the above game and was organised by Nick and James Clark who along with their university mates played against Blofield United (who won their league and cup this year). I was asked to play by the Clark boys as I work with their dad, Steve, who actually played the first period in goal despite being just over 5ft tall.

After a promising start (by me at centre half and the team) we fell behind to the fitter team and lost 7-2. The "uni boys" regained some pride by winning the penalty kick shoot-out in front of The Barclay, that gave me great pleasure as I scored as well.

Thanks to the game and the raffle which was drawn in Yellows after the game raised £262 for the Appeal.

Thanks to everyone who took part in both events and contributed to the monies raised.

I still have to arrange a date to go back to Swaffham to pick up a cheque for over £600 which was raised in a fundraising event by Swaffham Town FC. We had a gentleman's dinner at the Conservative Club which I attended with my former Canaries team-mate Robert Fleck where we conducted a Q & A session followed by a raffle and auction. Thanks to all in Swaffham for a great evening and a nice cheque.

I have also recently taken part in a "top secret" wedding speech for a best man who wants to surprise his groom on the special day in July. The best man has already raised some money by doing a local 10k run and has donated some "extra" money to the Appeal for the wedding day surprise. Once that cheque comes through we can reveal the names and add the amount to the increasing total.

I would also like to say a massive thank you to the Norfolk Chicken Association who have donated over £8,000 to the Appeal.

Good luck to the team at The Edge at Barnham Broom who are trying to go from Lands End to John O Groats (10 miles from where I was born) during a 24hr marathon on a fitness bike, treadmill, cross trainer and rowing machine. I'll actually be in Portugal on the weekend that they are doing it but I have said I will do 30 minutes on a bike over there to try to help out. Good luck to all at The Edge.

Finally, thanks to everyone for their recent support of the Bryan Gunn Appeal and helping us get nearer to the £1,000,000 mark.

What a brilliant effort!!

Gunny

Happy New year to all of our friends and supporters

Let's hope that 2010 can be a great year for all on a personal and charity front.

I will endeavour (New Year resolution) to update the website on a regular basis this year and keep you all informed of any interesting things happening around the Bryan Gunn Appeal.

I attended the Kirkley & Pakefield FC Christmas lunch on December 21st where I was asked to speak about my past efforts on the football field and future hopes in life. This gave me an opportunity to speak about the Appeal and the great work it has done over the years. Thanks to the generosity of Beccles based company Hickman Supplies, who donated a drill set, we raised £100. The drill was auctioned off and won by businessman Les Dawson. Thank you Les. Also later that evening on visiting the Red Herring restaurant in Oulton Broad I was presented with a very expensive bottle of champagne by proprietor Jeff Jefferson. We will keep this for a future fundraising event where I'm sure it will once again bring in another good amount for the Appeal. Thank you to Jeff for his generosity as well.

As I said I will be updating the site regularly so bye for now (I'm off to take down the Christmas tree).

Bryan

Welcome to the new Bryan Gunn Appeal website.

I hope that everyone who visits here will find it informative and helpful whether they are looking to find out more information about leukaemia and cancer or just wanting to donate money to the Appeal.

Many thanks to the Evening News for the opportunity to profile some of the great work the appeal has done over the last 16 years and with that support we hope to be able to push the appeal total nearer to the magical £1,000,000 figure.

I will be keeping in touch with the website over the festive period to keep tabs on the fundraising total but I also want to take this opportunity to wish all supporters and friends of the Bryan Gunn Appeal a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A Personal Message

What an up and down year 2009 has been for most of us! Good experiences, bad experiences, new jobs, no jobs, new opportunities and the occasional heartache. I have been through most of that personally, but now that we are nearing the end of 2009 I would like to tell readers about some exciting and heart-warming news.

I am absolutely delighted to tell you that, thanks to Evening News readers and the support of the Norfolk public over the last 16 years, the Bryan Gunn Appeal is nearing another fantastic milestone - £1,000,000.

As some of you already know, the Bryan Gunn Leukaemia Appeal was set up in memory of my daughter Francesca Ruth Gunn who died from leukaemia in October 1992. This was a devastating blow for both my wife Susan and I at the time, but in order to help others who have suffered and will suffer from this terrible disease, we decided to dedicate a charity to her memory.

When I found out recently that the overall total raised was nearing £1,000,000, I was filled with an enormous sense of pride for the hard work and goodwill since the appeal was set up in March 1993. I remember back to the Gunn's Golden Goals Appeal which ran in conjunction with the Evening News and started the ball rolling nearly 17 years ago. Almost £20,000 was raised by people pledging money on goals Norwich City FC scored in the final five games of the 1992/93 season. There were 10 goals scored in those five games and, of course, Norwich City FC finished in their highest-ever league placing of third in that inaugural season of the Premier League.

From there, we organised sporting memorabilia auctions, golf days, theatre nights, and then people showed their support by organising their own sponsored events, swims, runs, pool marathons and many, many more fund-raising activities.

As well as thanking the many hundreds of people and organisations that have supported the appeal since 1993, I must say a very special thanks to Keith Colman and Gill Perks who are the original chairman and administrators of the charity. Without them the smooth running of the appeal would never have seen us near this magical figure and they both should take great credit for the continued success of the appeal.

The projects that the appeal has supported over the years are also an area of immense pride from the success of each initiative.

The appeal has supported the following projects over the past 17 years:

• An established laboratory for research into the causes and cures of childhood leukaemia at the University of East Anglia
• Funding of two PhD lectureships at the UEA and a senior research fellowship post
• The provision of specialist equipment for the leukaemia and lymphoma diagnostic laboratory and research at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
• Funding of nurses' paediatric oncology courses and the funding for a paediatric outreach oncology nurse for a three-year period at the NNUH
• Funding of a paediatric oncology nurse for a three-year period at James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston
• Funding for Dr Beny Spira in Sao Paolo, Brazil, who investigates the effects of some Brazilian medicinal plants on leukaemia
• Continued funding for research at the University of East Anglia
• Gaps:line to provide support for families and carers of children with leukaemia and cancer.

Finally, I would also like to say a big 'thank you' to readers of the Evening News for your unstinting support of the Bryan Gunn Appeal over the years. I am confident that support will continue as we launch a new push for the campaign today.

Childhood cancer and leukaemia affect thousands of families and here in Norwich and Norfolk the generosity and hard work of everyone is having a real and visible impact on this devastating illness.

Who knows, we might be celebrating big things in 2010 and hopefully we can press on and make some exciting projects happen in with your support! Thank you.