City of London Friends of Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK - Charity Registration No. 1089464

City of London Friends of

CANCER RESEARCH UK

Founded 1989

Back in June 1989, a group of my friends met in a pub on the fringes of the City of London to discuss the formalisation of our fundraising efforts. Some of us had been organising events to raise money for cancer research on an ad hoc basis for the previous 18 months or so and, as we seemed to be quite good at it, we wanted to take things a step further.

We invited a representative of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to come and speak to us and outline our options. By far the most attractive was the foundation of a "friends" group for the charity, giving us autonomy for our fundraising efforts whilst affording us the support of one of the country's leading medical research charities. Thus it was in August 1989 that the "South Bedfordshire Friends of ICRF" was born. Most of the people at the "birth" meeting are still involved with the group today, either serving on one of our committees or helping out and organising events on a casual basis. I myself have been privileged to serve as either chairman or co-chairman for 17 of our 18 years.

For the first few years, we tried anything to assess its money-making potential. We said from the outset that we would stage events rather than "rattle tins" and this ethos together with our unofficial motto "saving lives, having fun" sum up our group rather well. Gradually, we became aware that the core activities in which we are still involved today had the most potential for raising funds, although we have always been receptive to new ideas. Elsewhere on this website you will find details of our key areas of operation. We are particularly proud that in 2001 we were asked to take over the prestigious Capital Quiz Challenge from "head office", a testament to our expertise and professionalism in this area. Then in 2006, when the charity were looking for help with organising a celebrity party at Madame Tussaud’s to publicise Breast Cancer Awareness month, who do you think they called? This year we have been asked to take over the Canary Wharf abseil and as usual, our volunteers have stepped up to the plate.

This website was an important innovation for us when we launched it in February 2001 (only a week behind schedule if I remember correctly - well done Ian!) and it was designed to improve our communications with our membership and regular supporters, as well as enabling a whole new set of people to discover us. It has proven to be another defining moment in our history, every bit as important as our foundation and our various name changes (as mentioned below). Many new members have joined after finding us on the world wide web.

So, what is in a name? A few years ago we came to the conclusion that the answer to this was "quite a lot, really." We felt that our name was preventing us from maximising our profile amongst City institutions, and, as by then all but one of our events were actually taking place in the City, we decided to approach ICRF for permission to change our name to be more in keeping with our profile. Thus the City of London Friends of ICRF was (re)born.

Our success since has confirmed the wisdom of this move. One final name change had still to take place. Following the merger on 4th February, 2002 of ICRF with the Cancer Research Campaign, we needed to reflect the brand new charity formed from the merger. Hence the name which now appears at the head of this page. Soon after, confirmation of the regard in which we are held at HQ came when I was invited to Buckingham Palace to attend a reception hosted by our patron, Her Majesty the Queen alongside other key supporters and fundraisers of the new enlarged charity.

We look forward to seeing you at our events in the future or perhaps you might consider whether we can help with your corporate entertainment programme, either to entertain your customers or provide your staff with a fun evening out with a competitive edge thrown in. On our various pages you will find details of some of the institutions who have used us in the past, many of whom have been customers over a number of years. In addition to our activities we will accept donations or sponsorship moneys raised by individuals for cancer research, if we provide a convenient conduit for such. As I write these notes I understand from our Treasurer that we are now approaching £400,000 raised since our formation. The success story goes on ……………

Geoff Taylor

Chairman

February 2007

£500,000 - Our Chairman’s target for the 20th anniversary was passed a year early thanks to a magnificent turn out at the Canary Wharf Abseil (see picture below!)

Words of wisdom from the Chairman here - these will be properly formatted soon...